Sad Truths about Kevin Conrad "PNG's Environment Hero"

 The Australian

One of the world’s leading voices on climate change policy, Kevin Conrad, has been linked to a string of failed business dealings in Papua New Guinea.
Conrad, PNG’s UN Special Envoy and Ambassador for Climate Change and Environment, came to international notoriety at the Bali conference in 2007 he told the US to either lead the debate or get out of the way.
In 2008 the UN Environment Program named Conrad a ‘Champion of the Earth’.
Last year, Time magazine named Conrad number one “Leader and Visionary” within its annual list of “Heroes of the Environment”.
But in PNG, Conrad has a different legacy.
PNG’s Public Service Minister Peter O’Neill when opposition leader in parliament in 2007 attacked the government on Conrad’s business dealings.
He accused Conrad of involvement in a failed housing scheme in the 1990s for the Public Officers Superannuation Fund where 17 million kina ($A8million) was paid but not one single house was built.
O’Neill also alleged Conrad in the early 2000s was involved in PNG’s banking corporation losing almost 35 million kina ($A18million) while landowners lost their coffee plantations because of the collapse of an coffee export company.
PNG’s Eastern Highlands province Governor Mal Smith told AAP that Highlanders who lost coffee plantations due to Conrad fear they will lose their forests through his climate change dealings.
“We don’t trust him with the money carbon trading will bring,” he said.
Paul Barker director of PNG think-tank, the Institute of National Affairs, said Conrad’s international persona was quite different to the perception in PNG.
“There are tens of thousands of (superannuation fund) contributors now asking where did the funds go?” he asked.
“And now if he is going to be directly involved in a mechanism managing trust funds for carbon trading, well concerns about the past need to be resolved.
“He really needs to do a little bit of explaining.
“There is a wide public scepticism within PNG.”
Conrad was notably absent from this week’s PNG Office of Climate Change and Environment Sustainability roadshow touring the country to promote and explain their push towards carbon trading.
And Conrad did not respond to approaches in relation to O’Neill’s allegations.
But in an interview earlier this year with AAP, when asked if he was a failed businessman Conrad said: “I’ve succeeded more than I’ve failed. If you look at PNG every businessman has failed about as often as they have succeeded and the reason is because the government has had too much control.”

Comments

  1. AnonymousMay 11, 2010 at 9:26 PM

    Kevin Conrad is working profitably behind the scenes.
    Conrad is using PNG forests as collateral to extract donations from NGO's and International companies in lure of some sort of land tenure promise.
    Conrad has also used Bertha Somare to co money from the PNG government to consult utter nonsense to the PNG PM and his uninformed government, by he way of UNFCC corruption.

    Fortunately the people of PNG do trust its government or this self appointed Ambassador for CLIMATE CHANGE.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousMay 19, 2010 at 6:33 PM

    sadly, in PNG these last few weeks Kevin Conrad has now dubed Voluntary Carbon Trading as "fools gold' and as gone on record to miss lead PNGeans that if in 4 to 5 years a compliance market will return 25 billion US dollars and PNG will receive a portion of this money.It is ridiculous and weird for even a self appointed Ambassador of Climate Change to even think of making such a statement of deliberate nonsence to the Post Courier journalist.Idiots like this a the reason the world is in so much economic turmoil and this dill and the PM's daughter are dangerous to the Land Owners of PNG.Conrad goes on to refer any issue with none other than Dr Wari Iamo of the 'new' Office of Climate Change the demon of deception and the orchestrator of the mutalation of the Enviroment all over PNG, by using his secretary confliting position with as well the Department of Conservation and Enviroment.Deputy PM Puka Tumu seceretly while PM was out of the country provided the 'new' Wari Iamo position through NEC.
    PNG has a full time job in protecting its sell from its biggest threat its "Government' and its cronies and specially its self appointed con man.

    ReplyDelete

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