Current Climate Funds Bypassing Poorest Nations: New Oxfam Report

Current Climate Funds Bypassing Poorest Nations: New Oxfam Report

Tianjin, China The poorest people who need the most help to adapt to a changing climate are largely being bypassed by the small amount of climate funds currently being disbursed, according to a new Oxfam report published today at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference in Tianjin, China.

Oxfam's report, Righting Two Wrongs: Making a New Global Climate Fund Work for Poor People, brings together evidence which shows that:

* Less than a tenth of major public funds dedicated to climate change have been used to help developing countries adapt to the impacts of climate change. The majority of climate funding has been used for climate mitigation work that aims to lower greenhouse gas emissions, rather than addressing the various impacts of increased carbon in the atmosphere.
* One third of all climate funding has been directed to three countries while the 49 poorest countries have together received only about one eighth of total funding.
* Only one tenth of the total amount needed for adaptation programs in least developed countries, as outlined in national adaptation plans, has actually been pledged.

Oxfam Australia Climate Change Advisor Kelly Dent said that the findings reinforce the need for governments attending the UN Climate Conference in Tianjin to agree on the details of the $100billion in climate finance pledged at last year's Copenhagen summit.

"Poor countries are feeling the worst impacts of climate change but are not getting their fair share of current climate finance," Ms Dent said.

"People in developing countries are also best placed to know how to address the impacts of climate change in their local environments, but are not getting enough say in decisions about what projects receive funding."

The report also finds that climate funding is being dispersed from over 20 different funds and that there are currently no agreed standards as to what constitutes 'climate finance'.

"We need governments at Tianjin to establish a 'one-stop shop' fund that will see climate finance distributed efficiently, transparently and based on the needs of the poor people receiving it," Ms Dent said.

"If negotiators don't propose details for the promised $100 billion fund on the table this week, the chances of getting a legally binding agreement in the near future will become less and less likely,"

"This is a race against time but we are running on a treadmill because poor people bearing the brunt of climate change simply cannot afford to wait any longer to receive the assistance they so desperately need."

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference continue until Saturday October 9.

To download the report visit: http://www.oxfam.org.au/media/releases/?p=3710

Oxfam Australia Climate Change Advisor Kelly Dent is in Tianjin, China. To interview her, or for more media information, contact:

Oxfam Australia Media Coordinator Sunita Bose in Sydney
+61 407 555 960

Oxfam Hong Kong Media Coordinator Thomas Lau in Tianjin
+86 (0) 137 5210 5124


Oxfam is Australia's leading agency working with communities around the world for solutions to poverty and social injustice


SOURCE: Oxfam Australia