Thread by @althecat

An interesting analysis of American misinformation, inside the U.S. wrt to China's investment policy in Africa.

If the U.S. and EU would just compete for African investment opportunities, they might not be losing, and Africa would benefit.

Whenever I discuss Africa's circumstances wrt the US and EU, the reflexive response is almost always "but Africa is being colonised by China with debt".

This video, like most @BTnewsroom reports, places things in historical and contemporary news context.

In Greece, which is part of Europe, China has been steadily investing in the port of Pireaus (see report below).

It did so initially during the Euro Crisis 2014-2015, which was caused, in part, by financial warfare by speculators against the Euro.
asia.nikkei.com/Business/Trans…

I recently visited Athens, where they have a new Airport and Motorway which was financed by the EU on terms -imposed as part of austerity programs - which, in construction, are very similar to those in Africa, but probably worse. (I am not an expert in this).

I caught a taxi into Athens which was expensive, because the motorway is financed by a punitive toll on taxis of around 20 odd euros per trip. The driver, understandably offered a discount if we paid by tax and he didn't use the meter.

The overall treatment of Greece during this period, which threatened at one point to result in a Grexit, included extraordinary coercive measures imposed in large part to bail out French and German banks which made bad loans.

This is not how capitalism is supposed to work.

Post 2008, the Euro Crisis and now Covid Europe, the UK, ECB and the US have used quantitative easing QE to bail out banks (and in Covid - nations) on a constant basis.

Due to climate change, Infrastructural investments are now required at a hitherto unimaginable level to enable the developing world, aka the Global South to leap-frog low cost carbon energy in their development.

These issues were raised at #COP26Glasgow directly by the Africa Group, the Least Developed Countries (LDC) and the G77+ China in a round of discussions about "finance" and "loss and damages" under the Paris Climate Treaty. But after talking big about trillions...

... the ambition to actually deliver development finance in a meaningful way by providing seed capital via IMF SDRs and creating mechanisms to enable "new blended capital instruments" using central bank money to provide "first loss capital" as requested by private financiers....

... they were kicked down the road towards a series of meetings and reports over the coming six years.

On the final day the "Loss & Damages" facility text was dropped from the text, against the wishes of negotiating groups representing the vast majority of global population.

As @GretaThunberg warned, rather than actual action to address the monumental challenges these decisions effectively delivered six more years of "blah blah blah" as the world burns and drowns.

@GretaThunberg In Western Media India and China were cast as the villains for raining on the UK Govt's efforts to "End Coal", amid Switzerland and other European nations having a hissy fit on the floor which John Kerry appeared to play a key role in resolving.

@GretaThunberg The reason that the "loss and damages facility" language was dropped was because of European objections. Even though it claims to be the biggest champion of the Paris Climate agreement - and it may well be - Europe, the home of a vast proportion of global wealth - killed....

@GretaThunberg ... the sole remaining win in the text for developing, and vulnerable nations in the #COP26 text. Why? Because they are terrified about the notion that "reparations" will likely be raised if this window is opened.

@GretaThunberg After conclusion of the deal I had a chat to an AFD reporter from Germany about the deal, we discussed the "winners" and losers and I pointed towards the statement made by the Guinea representative - made on behalf of the G77+China Group which is the largest voting block...

@GretaThunberg ... in the @UNFCCC framework convention - which underpins the COP process. I told the German reporter that in my opinion the biggest loser at COP was Africa, and that you could hear the grief and disappointment in the interventions by Guinea on behalf of the group.

@GretaThunberg @UNFCCC I concluded by making, what I thought was an uncontroversial observation, namely that Europe needed to come to terms with its 400 year colonial legacy wrt to Africa in order for COP to succeed. That it needed to accept that its wealth had been built off the backs of slavery....

@GretaThunberg @UNFCCC ... and the colonial exploitation of Africa's bounteous resources of human capital and natural resources.

Without saying anything, the German reporter, who appeared entirely mainstream and sensible in his views in several prior conversations, simply walked away, without saying anything.

The global order is in motion at the moment. Africa's resources - which are needed for the Climate Change transition - are the fulcrum through which this motion is accelerating. And right now, we are unable to even discuss the reality of these challenges.

Politicians, financiers, and the people, the demos, of the rich west, i.e. Europe and US, and the global governmental framework of the UN which they finance and control, need to grow up.

#NoMore

/ENDS

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