At 10 am Monday morning 8th July, a small group of environmental activists from London Rising Tide interrupted a hush hush conference for powerful corporate carbon traders, (including the World Bank and Vivendi) at a top Knightsbridge hotel. The conference had been arranged by Environmental Finance, the publication which informs the corporate sector on how to dodge global pollution control laws by buying 'carbon dioxide emission credits' from less industrialised countries, who have not yet used their quotas. This mechanism was created by the sham Kyoto Protocol, in 1997, under pressure from big business lobbyists in the US, who also managed to secure a world wide emission reduction target of only 5 % instead of the 60% that is needed for real affect.

Up to 100 delegates had paid around £1000 for tickets for the exclusive conference, but the group managed to walk easily past door staff into the first floor meeting. Once inside, they showered delegates with detailed leaflets, posing the question 'What about our future?' and asking them to own up that they were only really in it for the money, despite the pious 'We're saving the world' line they take when not talking to eachother. This was despite being shouted down by the speaker, who seemed to think that climate chaos and the need for 60% cuts in emissions was 'boring'!

After the Tiders had been led out with the assistance of hotel security, one delegate from Environmental Finance (EF) came out to talk to the group. Trying to defend the conference and show that he too was concerned about the environment, he stated that he had talked with 'the green movement', which in his mind consists of Friends of the Earth, Greenpeace and WWF, none of whom has taken issue with carbon trading. 'How can you talk to a movement?' he was asked, to which he had no cogent reply. In actuality, EF's magazine is very aware of opposition from green groups in Europe and the US, carrying regular reports on this. Journalists for the magazine attempt to undermine any non-market based approach to environmental protection, being entirely focused on enabling business to carry on as usual.

For more info on climate change and to take part in Rising Tide campaigns against carbon traders, please go to www.risingtide.org.uk. Environmental Finance's website is www.environmental-finance.com