THE CARBON WAR

Dung of the devil 237
The Shell Foundation started life in 2000, six years before we did, with a $250
million endowment from Shell. The World Bank and the International Finance
Corporation have been flying consultants around the world writing reports on
how to set up solar lighting markets since at least 1995, the first year I went to
one of their meetings. I could go on at some length.
What were they all doing? How hard were they all really trying?
I feel the anger rising in me from deep down, once again, and one more
time I battle to suppress it. I repeat my mantras. Focus on the snowballing positive
news. The zeitgeist is changing. History is not destiny. The foot draggers
can yet come to the party. And when they do, they can do so quickly, bringing
with them hundreds of billions of dollars currently flowing to fossil fuels.
And meanwhile I have maybe a month to find enough funding to get
SolarAid and SunnyMoney, my candle for hope that “nicer capitalism” can
accelerate climate-risk abatement and poverty alleviation, back on course.