10 November 2008

Anti-poverty and environmental groups representing over nine million people today urge Prime Minister Gordon Brown to call time on the global greed responsible for the worst financial crisis in history.

The alert comes hours before groups campaigning for justice for the world's poor demonstrate as Brown addresses the City tonight at the Lord Mayor of London's banquet.

Protestors are expected to gather outside the Guildhall to demand Brown helps devise a major recovery plan for the financial crisis that puts people and the environment at its heart.

The groups say that while those to blame for the crisis have been bailed out with billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money, the world’s poorest people remain saddled with an unfair economic system and have received nothing.

Their alliance - including the Trade Justice Movement, ActionAid, CAFOD, the Jubilee Debt Campaign, Stamp Out Poverty, War on Want, the World Development Movement and the New Economics Foundation - demand fundamental reform of the global economic system which fuelled the crisis.

Meredith Alexander from ActionAid, said: "The financial crisis has graphically demonstrated to people in rich countries what the poor have known for years, that the current international economic system doesn’t work.

"We need a radically different economic system which puts people first. Most importantly, the world’s poorest people must have a full and equal say in developing this system. Decisions must not be taken by organisations that only represent rich countries."

Benedict Southworth, chair of the Trade Justice Movement, added: "The past few months have seen one of the most significant financial crises in North American and European history, a crisis caused by global greed - a reckless and unregulated economic system which has been biased against the poor for decades.

"It's time for a radically different system which reduces inequality, creates jobs and puts people before profit, within a low carbon economy. It’s essential that rich countries do not use this crisis as an excuse not to make deep cuts in carbon emissions and agree a post 2012 climate change deal. Instead we need to grasp this as an opportunity to set the world economy on the path to sustainability."

The protest will take place in the run-up to a controversial G20 summit of leaders from the world's richest economies in Washington on Saturday (15 November) to discuss the financial crisis.

Campaigners are pressing for decisions about reform to the global economic system to be made in a far more democratic forum that gives the poorest of the world a full and equal say.

They propose that the United Nations, as the only organisation with such a mandate, must be empowered to lead a process of comprehensive reform of the financial and economic system which involves all countries.

The alliance is calling for:

• a major recovery plan for the financial crisis that puts people and the environment at its heart - in particular enabling countries to better feed, clothe, educate and protect their people.
• effective regulation of the financial system, including just tax, debt and trade rules.
• a new and democratic set of institutions to govern this economic system.