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1. Footing the Bill: Fair finance for loss and damage in an era of escalating climate impacts

Author:
Tracy Carty and Lyndsay Walsh
Publication Date:
06-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The world has entered a new and dangerous era of climate change impacts, causing huge loss and damage and driving up inequality in the world’s poorest countries and communities that have contributed least to the climate crisis. New research by Oxfam estimates that funding requirements for UN humanitarian appeals linked to extreme weather are eight times higher than they were 20 years ago, and over the past five years nearly half of appeal requirements have gone unmet. Funding for emergency humanitarian response is piecemeal and painfully inadequate, as is broader support to address loss and damage such as rebuilding homes and vital infrastructure. Scaled-up financial support from governments, corporations and individuals most responsible for causing the climate crisis, and most able to pay, is an immediate necessity. A new finance facility must be created to help ensure that finance to address loss and damage is accessible and sustained, is additional to adaptation, mitigation and ODA commitments, and is delivered in accordance with the principles of climate justice.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Infrastructure, and Finance
Political Geography:
Global Focus

2. Climate Finance in West Africa: Assessing the state of climate finance in one of the world’s regions worst hit by the climate crisis

Author:
Norman Martin Casas and Azara Remalia Sanogo
Publication Date:
09-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In West Africa/Sahel, countries and their communities are experiencing the worst impacts of the climate crisis. Elsewhere, Paris Agreement climate finance commitments are set to prioritise the countries that are most impacted by climate change. However, new research by Oxfam shows that, despite West Africa/Sahel being one of the world’s most climate-vulnerable regions, the international climate finance received falls far short of meeting national climate finance needs and is being significantly over-reported in favour of debt instruments. Adaptation finance is also insufficient. Reported climate finance does not place gender equality at the centre, and only a small part directly reaches local actors. In light of this, developed countries and other donors should scale up grant-based adaptation finance that reaches the local level and responds to the real needs of particularly hard-hit regions such as West Africa/Sahel.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Environment, and Finance
Political Geography:
Africa, West Africa, and Sahel

3. Unaccountable Accounting: The World Bank’s unreliable climate finance reporting

Author:
Jason Farr, James Morrissey, and Christian Donaldson
Publication Date:
10-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Despite being the largest multilateral provider of climate finance, the World Bank supplies very little evidence to support its claims about the amount of climate finance it provides. Oxfam has attempted to recreate the Bank’s reported climate finance figures using public information for projects in the Bank’s FY2020. Oxfam found that the Bank’s current climate finance reporting processes are such that its claimed levels of climate finance cannot be independently verified and could be off by as much as $7bn, or 40%. Without better disclosure practices, the World Bank is asking us to take much on faith. Climate finance funding is too important for us to do that. The World Bank must be more transparent in its reporting so that it can be held to account.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, International Cooperation, World Bank, Climate Finance, and Banking
Political Geography:
Global Focus

4. Climate finance in Asia: Assessing the state of climate finance in one of the world’s most climate vulnerable regions

Author:
Christopher Roy
Publication Date:
11-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Asia is particularly vulnerable to climate hazards including extreme temperatures, flooding, droughts, cyclones, and sea level rise. The most vulnerable communities need financial support to help adapt to the climate crisis – they cannot do so alone. Developed countries have promised $100 bn in climate finance to developing countries every year until 2025. This promise has not been met. Asian countries have outlined the support they require and delivering on these needs is integral to bringing climate justice to those most vulnerable to – yet least responsible for – the climate crisis. We find that the climate finance provided to Asia is woefully inadequate to support the necessary adaptation actions and vulnerable communities are suffering as a result.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Finance, and Climate Finance
Political Geography:
Asia

5. Unfarmed Now, Uninhabited When? Agriculture and climate change in Iraq

Author:
Oxfam Publishing
Publication Date:
03-2022
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Small-scale farmers in Iraq are among the most affected groups in Iraq by climate change and water scarcity. With the reduction of rainfall and soaring temperature, agricultural production is dropping, and farmers’ ability to cope is hindered. Affected farmers are exhausted and feel that they are left alone in the face of crisis. Many farmers are leaving their lands and looking for better opportunities away from their land and the urban areas. Duty bearers need to mobilize resources and political well to support farmers and the agricultural sector through a national strategy with clear vision on the current needs and comprehensive forecast of the impacts of climate change. While agriculture is at the heart of Iraq’s past and present, its position in the country’s future is at risk.
Topic:
Security, Agriculture, Climate Change, Food, and Farming
Political Geography:
Iraq and Middle East

6. Caring in a changing climate: Centering care work in climate action

Author:
Seema Arora-Johnson, Maeve Cohen, and Sherilyn MacGregor
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The global care crisis is being exacerbated by the global climate emergency, with interlocking impacts that threaten lives and livelihoods in all parts of the world. These impacts are particularly severe among rural livelihoods in low-income countries. Climate change intensifies the work involved in caring for people, animals, plants, and places. It reduces the availability and quality of public services in marginalized communities and directly compounds the unfair distribution of unpaid care work that sustains gender inequality. Yet the intersections of climate change and care work have been overlooked in the development literature. Strategies for climate mitigation and adaptation have paid relatively little attention to how care work is affected by climate impacts, nor have they considered whether interventions improve or intensify the situation of carers. Instead, when designing “gender-sensitive” climate actions, the focus has been largely on women’s economic empowerment as opposed to alleviating or transforming existing distributions of care work. The aim of this report is to fill a knowledge gap by examining the points of interaction between climate change impacts and the amount, distribution, and conditions of unpaid care work. We focus on care workers rather than those who are cared for, while stressing the relational nature of care and acknowledging that carers too require care.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Environment, and Migration
Political Geography:
Global Focus

7. Carbon Pricing: A primer for Oxfam

Author:
James Morrissey
Publication Date:
02-2022
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Carbon pricing is not a new phenomenon. Backed by widespread consensus in the economic literature that it is the single most effective policy for addressing climate change, it has been the staple policy priority of many environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Yet carbon pricing has seen limited uptake. Efforts to price carbon have failed in a multitude of contexts. Where they have passed, in most cases, prices have been set too low or covered too little of the economy to effectively address the challenge posed by climate change. As a result, climate advocates have come to question carbon pricing as a primary policy approach. In this context, this paper is not intended to provide novel insights into carbon pricing, nor is it intended to motivate for or against an immediate campaign priority at Oxfam. Rather, this review of carbon pricing is intended to provide a technical background on the topic, considering the concerns that are of greatest salience to Oxfam. The specific aims of the paper are to support Oxfam staff in their deliberation on whether, when, and how to engage on carbon pricing initiatives, as questions around this policy approach shift over the next 20 years. It is anticipated that such reflection would also be useful to a number of organizations whose concerns are similar to Oxfam’s.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, NGOs, and Carbon Emissions
Political Geography:
Global Focus

8. Development – A Private Affair? The involvement of the Italian private sector in rural development cooperation programmes

Author:
Oxfam Publishing
Publication Date:
01-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Investment in small-scale agriculture is needed in order to meet the ambitious objective set by the United Nations and signed by the world leaders in 2015: to eradicate hunger, ensure food security, improve nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture by 2030 (SDG 2). However, reaching this ambitious goal with the current level of resources committed will not be possible without concerted action on global challenges such as worsening climate change, fluctuating energy prices, diversification of diets in emerging economies and a growing pressure on natural resources such as land and water for purposes other than food. In the world today, 795 million people – one in nine people – still experience limited access to healthy and nutritious food; essential for children to develop properly and for fostering good health. Most of the people affected live in developing countries – 98 percent –and in Africa, one person in four suffers from hunger.1 Paradoxically, those who suffer from hunger are mainly farmers or people who depend on agriculture as their main source of income. To end the injustice of hunger in the world, there is therefore a need for a shared effort from public and private players, geared to allocate more and better investment for the promotion of sustainable agricultural development. In this paper, Oxfam investigates the flows of official development aid (ODA) committed by Italy in the last ten years to promoting food security, sustainable agriculture and rural development in its partner countries. The analysis aims to identify the main features of Italian ODA in this sector in order to evaluate its level of transparency and accountability. It also aims to verify the coherence, in financial terms, between the real allocation of resources and the political importance that Italy has historically assigned to food security issues. In parallel, this paper examines the involvement of Italian agri-food industries in rural development programmes financed through Italian ODA. In light of the wide- ranging debate which aims to promote a greater involvement of the private sector in development, Oxfam investigated the experience gained to date by Italy in one of the priority sectors of its development cooperation policy. The paper’s analysis focuses on three case studies featuring different modalities and objectives for private sector involvement, with the aim to assessing the impacts of their contribution in terms of the reduction of poverty and food insecurity in local communities. Oxfam’s purpose is to contribute to the ongoing national debate in Italy on the eligibility criteria that would promote private sector support for co- financed cooperation initiatives in partner countries; in line with the objectives and goals of the Italian International Development Cooperation policy.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, Environment, Poverty, United Nations, Food, Hunger, and Rural
Political Geography:
Europe, Italy, and Global Focus

9. Money Talks: A Synthesis Report Assessing Humanitarian Funding Flows to Local Actors in Bangladesh and Uganda

Author:
Anita Kattakuzhy and Chloe Parrish
Publication Date:
03-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
International humanitarian agencies and donors have made a series of global commitments to local actors as part of the localization agenda, including to increase their access to greater direct funding by 2020. This briefing paper reviews 2015 national financial data for Bangladesh and Uganda to better understand how to target international investments in localization. It presents key findings from Oxfam-commissioned research on which factors affect local actors’ ability to access international humanitarian funding. It concludes that in order for global commitments to translate into practice, investments should look at changing the terms of the funding relationship, as well as be based on a context-specific, national analysis of the financial environment.
Topic:
Climate Change, Disaster Relief, Environment, Humanitarian Aid, Refugee Crisis, and Displacement
Political Geography:
Uganda, Bangladesh, Africa, and Asia

10. Facing Risk: Options and Challenges in Ensuring that Climate/Disaster Risk Finance and Insurance Deliver for Poor People

Author:
Debbie Hillier
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Reducing the impacts of disasters on poor people is absolutely vital. Climate/disaster risk financing could play a useful role if it is part of an approach that includes risk reduction, if it strengthens social protection, and if it has real participation from civil society. Insurance, as one component of risk financing, could play a supportive role if carefully designed – keeping in mind the limitations, including the risk of worsening income and gender inequality. The InsuResilience Global Partnership should build more evidence of what works for poor people, invest in pro-poor business models, and ensure the insurance schemes developed are part of a broader approach to reduce risks and the inequalities that make people vulnerable to disasters.
Topic:
Civil Society, Climate Change, Disaster Relief, and Inequality
Political Geography:
Global Focus

11. Closing the Divide in Malawi: How to Reduce Inequality and Increase Prosperity for all

Author:
Clare Coffey, Jessica Hamer, and Chiara Mariotti
Publication Date:
04-2018
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Inequality between the richest and the rest in Malawi continues to rise, with poverty remaining extreme and endemic. Climate change is compounding the challenges, with recent droughts and floods likely to have worsened poverty, resulting in one in three Malawians relying on humanitarian assistance in 2016. Economic inequality threatens to undermine the hard-fought and important progress on some aspects of human development in Malawi. This report presents a vision, roadmap and policy recommendations for a more inclusive, equitable and prosperous Malawi. It shows that inequality is not inevitable but the result of policy choices made by those with power. Breaking out of slow and unequal growth requires government, development partners and institutions to work for all, especially for those living at the margins, rather than serving powerful vested interests.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, Gender Issues, Inequality, and Tax Systems
Political Geography:
Africa and Malawi

12. Climate Finance Shadow Report 2018: Assessing Progress Towards the $100 billion Commitment

Author:
Tracy Carty and Armelle Le Comte
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Climate finance efforts by developed countries are at a critical juncture. There are only two years before the deadline by which developed countries have committed to jointly mobilize $100bn per year to support climate action in developing countries. This $100bn commitment has a pivotal role to play in supporting developing countries to reduce their emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. This year will also see governments at the 24th Conference of Parties (COP24) in Katowice agree new rules to govern how climate finance is accounted under the Paris Agreement – rules that will shape the quality and transparency of climate finance provision for many years to come. This briefing paper offers an assessment of progress towards the $100bn goal. The second in a series, it looks at the latest donor figures for 2015-16, with a strong focus on public finance. It considers how close we are to the $100bn goal; where the money is coming from; where it is going; what it is being spent on; and how donors are counting the money they report.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Environment, International Cooperation, and Paris Agreement
Political Geography:
Global Focus

13. Resilience in Burkina Faso: Impact evaluation of the ‘Resilience, Food security and Nutrition’ project

Author:
Robert Fuller and Alexia Pretari
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The Resilience, Food Security and Nutrition Project (Projet de Resilience, Securite Alimentaire et Nutritionnelle, PRSAN) was carried out in the North and Centre-North regions of Burkina Faso between 2013 and 2017 by Oxfam and Christian Aid, together with two implementing partners, the Alliance Technique d’Assistance au Developpement (ATAD) and the Office de Developpement des Eglises Evangeliques (ODE). The project was aimed at enabling particularly vulnerable households to increase their resilience and improve their food security and nutritional situation. Project activities included supporting households in crop production, market gardening, processing and household businesses, providing awareness-raising on good nutritional practices, carrying out community-level disaster assessments and establishing early-warning committees, and distributing livestock and cash transfers. The Effectiveness Review was aimed at evaluating the success of this project in enabling participants to build their resilience to shocks, stresses and uncertainty. This report is part of Oxfam’s Effectiveness Review Series.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, Environment, Gender Issues, and Farming
Political Geography:
Africa and Burkina Faso

14. Resilience in Zambia: Impact evaluation of the ‘Citizen Participation in Adaptation to Climate Change’ project

Author:
Robert Fuller and Jonathan Lain
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The ‘Citizen Participation in Adaptation to Climate Change’ (CPACC) project aimed to build the resilience of farming households to climate shocks, through promoting conservation farming techniques and livelihood diversification, and through supporting disaster-planning activities and early-warning systems at the community level. This Effectiveness Review used a quasi-experimental approach to assess the impact of the project among households whose members directly participated in the project activities, in one of the three districts where the project was carried out. The results provide evidence that the project had a positive effect on the resilience of participant households, particularly through the community-level disaster preparedness activities. There is also evidence that the project had a positive impact on the adoption of conservation farming techniques, on the area of land cultivated, and on yields. However, the project does not appear to have had the positive effects it sought on engagement in non-agricultural income-generating activities, nor on participation in savings groups. There is no indication that the project had had a positive impact on households’ overall material welfare by the time of the survey.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, Disaster Relief, Environment, and Food
Political Geography:
Africa and Zambia

15. Funding Mechanisms to Incentivize Sustainable and Inclusive Water Provision in Kenya’s Arid Lands

Author:
Rob Mills and Ashni Shah
Publication Date:
08-2018
Content Type:
Research Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In Kenya’s arid and semi-arid regions, communities face extended periods of drought and climate volatility. In this context, NGOs, donors and private sector actors are exploring how they can help vulnerable populations to prepare and build resilience. The use of solar-powered water pumps is one approach through which partners are building this resilience. This report is a concept-stage exploration of optimal funding mechanisms to accelerate the adoption of solar-powered water pumps in the arid and semi-arid areas of Kenya. It also looks at accompanying management systems to ensure financial viability, inclusion and accountability.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Water, and Sustainability
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa

16. A Resilient Present and Future are Possible

Author:
Oxfam Publishing
Publication Date:
04-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Asia is exposed and vulnerable to a wide range of natural and manmade hazards. In many respects, it is the global epicenter for disasters. Its location makes it prone to destructive hazards that are exacerbated by climate change, leading to an increasing number of cyclones, sea level rises, severe drought, and other extreme climate effects. This vulnerability is compounded by poverty. The majority of the world’s poorest people today live in Asia, thus protection and recovery from these disasters remain difficult. In Asia, Oxfam continues to work with partners and vulnerable communities to promote resilience against existing risks and new risks from natural and human induced disasters that impact disadvantaged poor people in Asia. This map provides an overview of the extensive work in 11 countries in Asia and features different kinds of approaches towards building resilience: small holder agriculture and enterprises; water resilience; urban resilience; natural resource management; working with the private sector to build resilience; and climate finance and gender justice, among others.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, Disaster Relief, Gender Issues, and Water
Political Geography:
Asia

17. Enhancing the Evidence Base for Vulnerability and Risk Assessment in Badin, Pakistan

Author:
Jessica Fullwood-Thomas and Asim Saqlain
Publication Date:
05-2017
Content Type:
Case Study
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
In Pakistan, thousands of people are affected by the impacts of climate change. District Badin (Sindh) is one of the most vulnerable areas, where coastal communities are affected by sea intrusion which has damaged natural resources and productive assets, such as water resources, cultivable land and associated livelihood opportunities. Insufficient investment in district annual development plans, alongside a lack of information, services and knowledge of adaptation at community level have all contributed to heightening vulnerabilities and exacerbating existing poverty patterns. The natural and human-made hazards and the subsequent risks have made it much harder for the coastal communities of Badin district, especially women, to withstand the impacts of disasters and external shocks.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Environment, Maritime, and Disaster Management
Political Geography:
Global Focus

18. The AIIB’s Energy Opportunity: How the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank’s Energy Lending Can Chart a New Path of Sustainable Development

Author:
Kiri Hanks
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will be a major new funder of infrastructure in developing Asia, where demand for power is growing faster than any other region in the world. Done right, its energy lending could promote an inclusive and sustainable Asian energy transition. This report sets out a vision for an AIIB partnership with the region’s most climate-vulnerable countries. This could forge a new path of economic development and confirm a new era of Southern climate leadership.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Natural Resources, Infrastructure, Sustainable Development Goals, Fossil Fuels, and Paris Agreement
Political Geography:
Asia and Global South

19. Africa Climate Change Resilience Alliance: Phase 2 Synthesis Evaluation

Author:
Aristides Baloi, John Colvin, and Mutizwa Mukute
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
ACCRA, which began implementing its programme in Mozambique, Uganda and Ethiopia in 2009, works with national and local governments and civil society groups in the countries where its programmes are implemented to tackle complex climate change issues and work towards increasing community adaptive capacities, transforming governance systems and achieving climate justice. This evaluation of phase 2 of the programme used a participatory, reflexive and theory-informed methodology to assess the extent to which the programme objectives were met. Also available are case studies on Mozambique and Uganda; see downloads on this page.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Environment, and Governance
Political Geography:
Uganda, Africa, Mozambique, and Ethiopia

20. Missing Out on Small is Beautiful: The EU’s Failure to Deliver on Policy Commitments to Support Smallholder Agriculture in Developing Countries

Author:
Jan Mayrhofer and Hanna Saarinen
Publication Date:
06-2017
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
With the world on the brink of an unprecedented four famines, donor countries must urgently step up efforts to tackle the structural causes of hunger and poverty. Food security and sustainable agriculture are among the European Union’s key priorities for development cooperation. The EU is committed to long-term solutions, including empowering smallholders, in particular women, and supporting environmentally sustainable approaches in agriculture. In practice, however, its development aid to the agricultural sector does not live up to its commitments. An Oxfam analysis of more than 7,500 EU-funded projects reveals a significant lack of transparency in reporting, casting doubt on the accountability of the EU’s aid. Based on the reported data, only a small portion of the EU’s agricultural development aid complies with the aim of targeting small-scale producers and women. Funding is also biased towards industrial and export crops and countries of strategic interest, at the expense of smallholders and countries most in need.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, Regional Cooperation, Food, and European Union
Political Geography:
Europe