Climate Funds Bypassing Poorest Nations: Oxfam Report
6 October 2010 at 2:34 pm
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.
The aid agency's report, Righting Two Wrongs: Making a New Global Climate Fund Work for Poor People, reveals 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 says that the findings reinforce the need for governments attending the UN Climate Conference in Tianjin to agree on the details of the $100 billion in climate finance pledged at last year’s Copenhagen summit.
Dent says poor countries are feeling the worst impacts of climate change but are not getting their fair share of current climate finance and 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’.
She says governments at Tianjin need 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.
If negotiators don’t propose details for the promised $100 billion fund on the table this week, she warns that the chances of getting a legally binding agreement in the near future will become less and less likely.
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) conference continues until Saturday October 9.
To download the report visit: www.oxfam.org.au
NGOs have moved from back stage to centre stage in world politics, and are exerting their power and influence in every aspect of international relations and policy making. They have in most part, been a positive force in domestic and international affairs. However, in recent times, various global Climate Justice Networks have popped up. These are platforms mainly constituted and controlled by Northern NGOs.
We as member of the NGO fraternity or general public seldom research their record of accomplishment; or ask awkward questions on northern NGOs policies; or chase facts behind their claims and publicity spin. One of the most basic questions as we dig deeper is what kind of credentials do these northern NGOs possess to champion justice issues. Simply put – are they committed to principles of justice as portrayed in their carefully cultivated public image?
If we go back to history, what we find is that they have a chequered past in terms of justice credentials. Rwandan Genocide until now had been regarded as the worst shame of NGO behaviour. This was genocide where an estimated 800,000 were massacred. The nineties saw NGOs soul-searching on such behaviour even as today NGO workers remain mentally scarred of experiences such as Rwanda. Apparently lessons have not been learnt as we find that through their climate advocacy they have been nopt only repeating the mistakes of the past but the shame hit a new low.
Read more: http://devconsultancygroup.blogspot.com/2010/09/climate-scam-ngo-credibility-hit-new.html