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Begin New Search Topic Climate Change Content Type Working Paper Publishing Institution Oxfam Publishing Publication Year within 25 Years

1. Understanding electricity utilities in sub-Saharan Africa: The role of civil society in improving performance, governance, and accountability

Author:
Peter Twesigye
Publication Date:
08-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This report provides a primer on the performance of electricity utilities in sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting on the current landscape of power sector and utility challenges, the reforms undertaken to address performance failures, opportunities for a “utility of the future” amid the global energy transition, governance frameworks available to assess performance (like the infrastructure regulatory system and World Bank’s Utility Performance and Behavior Today [UPBEAT] platform), and the prospects for changing the political economy of state-owned utilities to significantly improve transparency, accountability, and performance. It provides foundational knowledge on how to use financial statements and economic tools so that nonexperts can assess the financial health of a utility for the purposes of demanding greater accountability. It also provides insights on why energy sector power purchase agreements (PPAs) should be made more transparent for greater public accountability. Further, the primer lays out the need for an enhanced role of civil society in advocating for improved transparency and greater civil participation in the governance of state-owned utilities and how regulation can be of further help. The key takeaway is that state-owned enterprises should be subject to commercial governance arrangements, including mandatory and stringent contracts and exposure to some private capital as well as stakeholder annual general meetings, open to the public, similar to those that occur in the private sector. This report complements three other reports published for Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. Each of those reports focuses on understanding the specific governance conditions surrounding their respective national electricity utilities. All these reports together are intended to build the programmatic and campaigning capacity among civil society actors to enable them to engage in improving the governance of electricity utilities. As such, the intended audience for this report is, first, members of civil society, and then policymakers and energy sector practitioners who are concerned about the operations of their national electricity utilities and who are contemplating advocacy and programming to improve their performance.
Topic:
Civil Society, Climate Change, Governance, Electricity, Utilities, and Energy
Political Geography:
Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa

2. Defining and Assessing Transformational Climate Change Adaptation: A framework for application to agri-food projects

Author:
Richard Kohl
Publication Date:
12-2024
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This discussion paper proposes a framework of four indicators of transformational adaptation – the breadth and depth of change, the intention to achieve transformation, scale and sustainability – and provides a framework to apply these indicators to four types of interventions in agri-food systems.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, Food Security, Sustainability, Adaptation, and Food Systems
Political Geography:
Global Focus

3. 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

4. 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

5. Resilience in Nepal: Impact evaluation of the Joint Programme on Disaster Risk Management and Humanitarian Preparedness

Author:
Jonathan Lain
Publication Date:
11-2017
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
This evaluation is presented as part of the Effectiveness Review Series 2015/16, selected for review under the resilience thematic area. This report documents the findings of a quasi-experimental impact evaluation carried out in January 2016 that sought to assess the impact of the activities of the ‘Joint Programme on Disaster Risk Management and Humanitarian Preparedness’. The project under review was implemented between April 2011 and March 2016 in four districts in the Terai region of southern Nepal – Dhanusha, Rautahat, Salarhi, and Saptari. The project was carried out by Oxfam in partnership with several organisations, including the Koshi Victims Society (KVS), the Social Development Research Centre (SDRC), Bagmati Welfare Society Nepal (BWSN), Nepal Red Cross Society (NRCS), and Rural Development Centre (RDC). The project had three broad objectives, which were developed during its planning phase: (1) to strengthen and institutionalise Community-Based Disaster Risk Reduction (CBDRR), (2) to enhance the capacity of local institutions to prepare for and respond to humanitarian emergencies, (3) to create an enabling environment for people to demand their ‘rights in crisis’.
Topic:
Agriculture, Climate Change, Infrastructure, and Disaster Management
Political Geography:
Global Focus

6. Feeding Climate Change: What the Paris Agreement means for food and beverage companies

Author:
Tim Gore and Rebecca Pearl-Martinez
Publication Date:
06-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
The Paris Agreement marked a major breakthrough in support for climate action from many parts of the business community, including from key actors in the food and beverage sector. But despite significant progress, much work remains both to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to support the millions of people already hit by climate change. As one of the sectors that is at highest risk of being affected by climate change, responsible for a giant emissions footprint and reliant on millions of small-scale farmers and agricultural workers in the regions most vulnerable to climate change, the food and beverage sector should lead the next generation of post-Paris corporate climate commitments. This paper presents new data commissioned from the research consultancy CE Delft on the greenhouse gas emissions footprints and water scarcity footprints of major food commodities. The data demonstrate the vital role the food and beverage industry can and must play in turning the Paris Agreement into a springboard for the stronger climate action needed.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, Food, and Food Security
Political Geography:
Global Focus

7. Humanitarian capacity-building in Mozambique: Improving living and health conditions in Zambézia

Author:
Marcos Do Amaral
Publication Date:
11-2016
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Mozambique is described as the third most exposed African country to the risks of disaster, particularly floods, cyclones and drought. It is one of the world’s worst affected countries in terms of climate change, resulting in high levels of poverty and vulnerability, and major impacts on natural resources and physical infrastructures. Oxfam is building the capacity of Mozambique’s civil society so it can effectively participate in disaster management, directly support affected and vulnerable people, and, in terms of the humanitarian situation, have a critical vision and voice.
Topic:
Civil Society, Climate Change, Poverty, and Natural Disasters
Political Geography:
Africa, Mozambique, and Southern Africa

8. Let Them Eat Coal: Why the G7 must stop burning coal to tackle climate change and fight hunger

Author:
Kiri Hanks and Julie-Anne Richards
Publication Date:
06-2015
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Climate change is already the biggest threat to winning the fight against hunger. Coal is the biggest single cause of climate change, yet the G7 countries are still burning huge amounts, despite efficient, affordable, renewable alternatives being available. G7 coal power stations emit twice as much fossil fuel CO2 as the whole of Africa, and their contribution to global warming will cost Africa alone more than $43bn per year by the 2080s and $84bn by 2100, and lead to several million tonnes of staple crops lost worldwide. This year will see crucial new UN climate talks in Paris. To set the tone for a successful climate agreement at the UN talks in December, the G7 must lead the world in setting out clear plans for a just transition away from coal. This Oxfam briefing paper shows how with the right mix of regulatory and policy measures, some countries can move to coal-free electricity grids within the next decade. Oxfam commissioned the think-tank E3G to review the current coal situation in all G7 countries.
Topic:
Climate Change, Environment, United Nations, Hunger, and Coal
Political Geography:
Africa

9. Climate Change Resilience: The case of Haiti

Author:
Marc J. Cohen and Bhawan Singh
Publication Date:
03-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Haiti's climate has changed over the past four decades. Annual mean temperatures have risen, and the rainy season now begins up to three months later than usual. Projections of future climate change indicate that annual mean temperatures will continue to rise over the course of the 21st century. Rainfall variability is also expected to increase, meaning more extreme droughts in the dry season and more intense rainfall in the wet season. Sea-level rise and increased storm surges are also expected. The coastal plains are increasingly subject to the influx of saltwater, and as ocean surges lead to saltier soils, farmers can no longer cultivate them. These factors will exacerbate current serious problems of flooding and erosion in coastal areas that lie in the direct path of tropical storms and hurricanes. In the absence of significant adaptation efforts, these dynamics will in turn have severe impacts on water resources, land, agriculture, and forests. Annual population growth of 1.5 per cent means over 11 million mouths to feed by 2020 and additional pressure on agricultural resources.
Topic:
Climate Change, Development, Poverty, Natural Disasters, and Infrastructure
Political Geography:
Caribbean and Haiti

10. Climate Shocks, Food and Nutrition Security: Evidence from the Young Lives cohort study

Author:
Dornan Paul, Ogando Portela, Maria Jose, and Pells Kirrily
Publication Date:
09-2014
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Oxfam Publishing
Abstract:
Drawing on survey data from Young Lives, an international study of childhood poverty involving 12,000 children in four countries, this paper examines the effects of environmental shocks on food insecurity and children‟s development. The data, from children and their families living in rural and urban locations in Ethiopia, the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, Peru , and Vietnam , provide information on the same individuals over time, allowing consideration of how earlier incidences of food insecurity and exposures to environmental shocks shape later outcomes. Regression analysis is used to estimate the relationships between these and other relevant factors.
Topic:
Security, Climate Change, Human Welfare, and Food
Political Geography:
India, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Andhra Pradesh, and Peru