Media Releases

Richest 1% emit as much planet-heating pollution as two-thirds of humanity

November 20, 2023

The richest 1% of New Zealanders cause double the consumption emissions of all 2 million people who live in Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Kiribati, combined.

The richest 1 percent of the world’s population produced as much carbon pollution in 2019 as the five billion people who made up the poorest two-thirds of humanity, reveals a new Oxfam report today. This report comes ahead of the UN climate summit in Dubai, amid growing fears that the 1.5°C target for curtailing rising temperatures appears increasingly unachievable.

“This report confirms the shocking truth, it is the super rich who are harming the climate with their extravagant lifestyles and irresponsible investments in dirty industries, not the low-income communities in Aotearoa and the Pacific who are facing the worst of the climate crisis.” said Oxfam Aotearoa Climate Justice Lead Nick Henry.

Data from Oxfam’s global research shows that for Aotearoa New Zealand:

• The richest 1% of New Zealanders, 48,000 people, cause double the consumption emissions of all 2 million people who live in Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Kiribati, combined.

• A single New Zealander in the richest 1% causes as much climate damage as 149 people from Kiribati.

• The richest 1% of New Zealanders cause more consumption emissions than 30% of the population with the lowest incomes, combined. This 30% are already consuming less than the global limit to keep global heating below 1.5 degrees.

“The injustice of the climate crisis is driven by economic injustice and inequality, where the rich take far more than their fair share of the world’s resources. We know that New Zealand is consuming too much fossil fuel and other resources compared to our neighbours in the Pacific, but this report shows it’s the richest New Zealanders who are causing the problem, not low-income communities in Aotearoa,” said Henry.

“The rich need to reduce their impact. The rest of us need collective solutions that improve our lives while reducing our emissions. Taxing the rich can help with both.”

“Climate Equality: A Planet for the 99%” is based on research with the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) and assesses the consumption emissions of different income groups in 2019, the most recent year for which data are available. The report shows the stark gap between the carbon footprints of the super-rich —whose carbon-hungry lifestyles and investments in polluting industries like fossil fuels are driving global warming— and the bulk of people across the world.

• The richest 1 percent (77 million people) were responsible for 16 percent of global consumption emissions in 2019 —more than all car and road transport emissions. The richest 10 percent accounted for half (50 percent) of emissions.

• It would take about 1,500 years for someone in the bottom 99 percent to produce as much carbon as the richest billionaires do in a year.

• Every year, the emissions of the richest 1 percent cancel out the carbon savings coming from nearly one million wind turbines.

• Since the 1990s, the richest 1 percent have used up twice as much of the carbon we have left to burn without increasing global temperatures above the limit of 1.5°C than the poorest half of humanity.

• The carbon emissions of richest 1 percent are set to be 22 times greater than the level compatible with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement in 2030.

Climate breakdown and inequality are locked in a vicious cycle —Oxfam has seen first-hand how people living in poverty, women and girls, Indigenous communities and Global South countries are feeling the unequal brunt of climate impacts, which in turn increase the divide. The report finds that seven times more people die from floods in more unequal countries. Climate change is already worsening inequality both between and within countries.

Governments can tackle the twin crises of inequality and climate change by targeting the excessive emissions of the super-rich, and investing in public services and meeting climate goals. Oxfam calculates that a 60 percent tax on the incomes of the richest 1 percent would cut emissions by more than the total emissions of the UK and raise $6.4 trillion a year to pay for the transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

Oxfam is calling on governments to:

• Dramatically reduce inequality. Oxfam calculates that it would be possible, through a global redistribution of incomes, to provide everyone living in poverty with a minimum daily income of $25 while still reducing global emissions by 10 percent (roughly the equivalent of the total emissions of the European Union).

• Get off fossil fuels quickly and fairly. Rich countries are disproportionately responsible for global warming and must end oil and gas production correspondingly faster. New taxes on corporations and billionaires could help pay for the transition to renewable energy.

• Prioritize human and planetary well-being over endless profit, extraction and consumption. Stop using GDP growth as the measure of human progress.

Notes to editors:

Download “Climate Equality: A Planet for the 99%”, the Oceania regional briefing, and the methodology note. The Stockholm Environment Institute’s Emissions Inequality Dashboard is also available for consultation.

Oxfam has launched a global petition to Make Rich Polluters Pay.

According to Our World in Data, road transport accounts for 15 percent of total CO2 emissions.

According to SEI’s research, a person in the bottom 99 percent emits on average 4.1 tons of carbon a year. Richard Wilk and Beatriz Barros’ study of 20 of the world’s billionaires found that they emitted on average 8,194 tons CO2 equivalent per year. This includes all greenhouse gases, so when converted to CO2, this is approximately 5,959 tons CO2. 5,959 divided by 4.1 is 1,453.

Oxfam’s research has shown that the investments of just 125 billionaires emit 393 million tonnes of CO2e each year —the equivalent of France— at an individual annual average that is a million times higher than someone in the bottom 90 percent of humanity.

Oxfam water engineers are having to drill deeper, more expensive and harder-to-maintain water boreholes used by some of the poorest communities around the world, more often now only to find dry, depleted or polluted reservoirs. One in five water boreholes Oxfam digs now is dry or unfit for humans to drink.

According to the UN, more than 91 percent of deaths caused by climate- and weather-related disasters over the past 50 years occurred in the Global South. Evidence shows that inequalities between rich and Global South countries are already 25 percent larger than they would be in a world without global warming.

Contact information:

Ben Ryder, Media and Communications Coordinator 022 310 2765 / ben.ryder@oxfam.org.nz

Starvation as weapon of war being used against Gaza civilians

October 26, 2023

Starvation as weapon of war being used against Gaza civilians – Oxfam

Just 2 per cent of usual food delivered to Gaza since siege imposed

Starvation is being used as a weapon of war against Gaza civilians, Oxfam said today as it renewed its call for food, water, fuel and other essentials to be allowed to enter. The international agency analysed UN data and found that just 2 per cent of food that would have been delivered has entered Gaza since the total siege – which tightened the existing blockade – was imposed on 9 October; following the atrocious attacks by Hamas and the taking of Israeli civilian hostages. While a small amount of food aid has been allowed in, no commercial food imports have been delivered.

As the escalation of the conflict extends to its 19th day, a staggering 2.2 million people are now in urgent need of food. Prior to the hostilities, 104 trucks a day would deliver food to the besieged Gaza Strip, one truck every 14 minutes. Despite 62 trucks of aid being allowed to enter southern Gaza via the Rafah crossing since the weekend, only 30 contained food and in some cases, not exclusively so. This amounts to just one truck every three hours and 12 minutes since Saturday.

Sally Abi Khalil, Oxfam’s Regional Middle East Director said: “The situation is nothing short of horrific – where is humanity? Millions of civilians are being collectively punished in full view of the world, there can be no justification for using starvation as a weapon of war. World leaders cannot continue to sit back and watch, they have an obligation to act and to act now.

“Every day the situation worsens. Children are experiencing severe trauma from the constant bombardment, their drinking water is polluted or rationed and soon families may not be able to feed them too. How much more are Gazans expected to endure?”

International Humanitarian Law (IHL) strictly prohibits the use of starvation as a method of warfare and as the occupying power in Gaza, Israel is bound by IHL obligations to provide for the needs and protection of the population of Gaza. In 2018, the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2417, which unanimously condemned the use of starvation against civilians as a method of warfare and declared any denial of humanitarian access a violation of international law. Oxfam said that it is becoming painfully clear that the unfolding humanitarian situation in Gaza squarely fits the prohibition condemned in the resolution.

Clean water has now virtually run out. It’s estimated that only three litres of clean water are now available per person – the UN said that a minimum of 15 litres a day is essential for people in the most acute humanitarian emergencies as a bare minimum. Bottled water stocks are running low and the cost of bottled water has already surged beyond the reach of an average Gaza family, with prices spiking fivefold in some places. A spokesperson for the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNWRA) pointed out that some of the food aid allowed in – rice and lentils – is useless, because people do not have clean water or fuel to prepare them. A series of airstrikes have left several bakeries and supermarkets either destroyed or damaged. Those that are still functional, can’t meet the local demand for fresh bread and are at risk of shutting down due to the shortage of essentials like flour and fuel. Gaza’s only operative wheat mill is redundant due to the power outages. The Palestinian Water Authority says Gaza’s water production is now a mere 5 per cent of its normal total, which is expected to reduce further, unless water and sanitation facilities are provided with electricity or fuel to resume its activity.

Notably, essential food items, like flour, oil and sugar, are still stocked in warehouses that haven’t been destroyed. But as many of them are located in Gaza city, it is proving physically impossible to deliver items due to the lack of fuel, damaged roads and risks from airstrikes.

The electricity blackout has also disrupted food supplies by affecting refrigeration, crop irrigation, and crop incubation devices. Over 15,000 farmers have lost their crop production and 10,000 livestock breeders have little access to fodder, with many having lost their animals. Oxfam said that the siege, combined with the airstrikes, has crippled the fishing industry with hundreds of people who rely on fishing losing access to the sea. Oxfam is urging the UN Security Council and UN Member States to act immediately to prevent the situation from deteriorating even further. And is calling for an immediate ceasefire, unfettered, equitable access to the entire Gaza Strip for humanitarian aid, and all necessary food, water, medical and fuel supplies for the needs of the population to be met.

ENDS.

For more information and interviews, please contact:
Roslyn Boatman (Tunisia) +216 29076086 / roslyn.boatman@oxfam.org
Lisa Rutherford (UK) +44 (0)7917 791 836 / lrutherford@oxfam.org.uk

Notes to editor:
United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) data on food deliveries to Gaza prior to the siege can be found here – this includes both humanitarian food aid and imports
OCHA updates show that a total of 62 trucks of aid have been allowed to enter Gaza via the
Rafah crossing from Saturday 21 – Tuesday 24 October.
Saturday 21 October – 20 trucks entered via Rafah, 5 of which contained food.
Sunday 22 October – 14 trucks entered via Rafah, 12 of which contained food.
Monday 23 October – 20 trucks entered, 11 of which contained food.
Tuesday 24 October- 8 trucks entered, 2 of which contained food.
UN Security Council resolution UNSC 2417 – Protection of civilians in armed conflict

G20 skates over the big issues of poverty, inequality and climate

September 9, 2023

In response to the G20 communique, Oxfam says: ‘The G20 has failed to meet the huge challenges our world faces. They continue to stumble away from taking the bold actions necessary to tackle poverty, inequality and climate change after an uninspiring and underwhelming Summit in India this weekend.”

“New Zealand needs to do our bit towards the global effort to end fossil fuels and support vulnerable communities with climate finance” said Oxfam Aotearoa Climate Justice Lead Nick Henry.

“Our Government should be moving faster on a just transition to end production of fossil fuels in Aotearoa.”

“New Zealand should be committing to increase funding to support communities in the Pacific and around the world adapt to climate change and respond to the loss and damage caused by the climate crisis.”

One bright light at the G20 was its invitation of a permanent seat for the African Union. Oxfam says the AU must flex this new power as a genuine counterweight within a platform dominated by countries that are historically responsible for stripping the continent of its resources. “This is long-awaited good news,” said Oxfam in Africa Director Fati N’zi-Hassane. “The G20 could now be a more effective multilateralism instrument, provided it is not used to further influence African Union members toward a Global North agenda.

“The AU must resist the siren’s calls for short term profit, as inequalities continue to grow inside the continent, and keep pushing to decolonize international financial systems. The AU can play a meaningful role on the G20’s debt relief initiative, for instance, and hold rich countries more accountable now for their many empty commitments, such as failing to spend at least 0.7% of their Gross National Income on development. The AU is in a stronger position to ensure that this promise, and many others, are never broken again,” N’zi-Hassane said.

On climate change, G20 leaders leave the Summit with no change to their plans of maintaining their greenhouse gas emissions to levels in 2030 at least double what they should be to stop a rise in global temperature above 1.5 °C. While we welcome language that the G20 aspires to enhance efforts to triple renewable energy capacity, it comes without any plan to actually amend existing policies and targets in order to achieve it. More renewable energy is insufficient without reducing waste and inefficiency, and without a clear commitment to phase out oil, gas and coal – this they failed to do. While recognizing the need for $4 trillion a year to pay for a green energy transition, the G20 refused again to offer any concrete pathway toward it.

“The richer G20 countries had a choice. On the one hand, climate catastrophe. On the other, to drastically reduce their emissions and provide sufficient levels of climate finance to the Global South. They leave New Delhi having chosen catastrophe with their eyes wide open. If G20 countries do not agree to change their positions on these issues, they are guaranteeing failure at the COP28 conference in Dubai,” said Oxfam Climate Change spokesperson Ashfaq Khalfan.

On inequality, tax and devlelopment finance:

“The gap between the rich world and the rest is growing faster than at any time since World War Two,” said Oxfam Inequality spokesperson Max Lawson. “By 2030, low and middle-income countries face a $27 trillion black hole to pay for climate-related loss and damages, measures to help adapt to climate impacts and to reduce emissions, along with their health, education and social protection needs. The G20 didn’t even pony up a fraction of this.’

“The money can easily be found if the G20 choose to look. Higher taxes on the mega-wealthy could raise at least $1.1 trillion, and taxes on the huge windfall profits in the fossil fuel, food and other sectors could raise another $1 trillion. Across the world hundreds of millions do not have enough money to feed their children, and whole nations are facing bankruptcy. The G20 must tax these corporate fat cats and their billionaire owners to feed the world and stop climate breakdown.’

‘Despite the clear logic and rationale, the G20 failed to do anything to increase taxes. However, it looks likely that Brazil will make inequality and taxing the rich a key part of their G20 presidency next year. This would be a real breakthrough.’

CONTACT

Rachel Schaevitz/Oxfam Aotearoa/ rachel.schaevitz@oxfam.org.nz

Millionaires, economists, and eminent politicians implore the G20 to tax the super-rich

September 7, 2023

In the last decade, billionaires around the world have more than doubled their wealth, from $5.6 to $11.8 trillion. We need a global push to increase taxes on the richest citizens back to past levels that most people believe were fairer and more useful for society. Without this adjustment, extreme wealth and inequality will continue to skyrocket.

A report released in April 2023 by the Inland Revenue Department found that the effective tax rate of the wealthiest families in New Zealand is 9.4%. This is less than half the rate of middle wealth New Zealanders which is at 20.2%.¹ One of the main reasons for this disparity is the fact that a large proportion of the income earned by these wealthy individuals stems from capital gains, which is not taxed in New Zealand.² The report focused on the tax rates of 311 families in Aotearoa with a net worth of over $50 million, and highlighted the glaring inequality in wealth distribution which is being exacerbated by the current tax system.

These findings reiterate the findings in Oxfam International’s 2022 Commitment to Reducing Inequality Index where New Zealand had a very low ranking of 136 out of 161 countries in terms of the tax system’s contribution towards inequality.³ This means that the tax system in Aotearoa is among the world’s least effective in reducing inequality.

Following the release of the IRD report, over 230 wealthy New Zealanders signed an open letter calling on the politicians of New Zealand to tax them more. They stated “We would willingly pay more tax to help lift families out of poverty and ensure everyone thrives – an investment that would pay off many times over.”⁴ This letter was coordinated by Oxfam Aotearoa and Tax Justice Aotearoa.

Shalomi Daniel, Economic and Gender Justice Lead for Oxfam Aotearoa explained, “the people of Aotearoa need a better tax system that alleviates, and does not perpetuate inequalities. We need a tax system that reduces poverty and inequality and ensures that everyone, and not just a wealthy few, has access to nutritious food, warm housing, quality healthcare and education for their children”

In an open letter to the G20, close to 300 millionaires, economists, and political representatives from almost all G20 countries call for a new international agreement on wealth taxes to “stop extreme wealth from corroding our collective future”. It says that people all over the world are “desperate for change”.

“Much work has already been done. There is an abundance of policy proposals on wealth taxation from some of the world’s leading economists. The public wants it. We want it. Now all that’s missing is the political will to deliver it. It’s time for you to find it.”

“The findings in these reports on income and tax inequality in Aotearoa are deeply concerning. But despite public polling showing clear support for decisive tax interventions to address this crisis, in the lead up to the election this year we’ve seen very little appetite from the main political parties to address this issue” says Rachel Dobric from Oxfam Aotearoa.

Morris Pearl, Chair of the Patriotic Millionaires and former Managing Director at BlackRock, said: “The leaders of the world’s largest economies must coordinate swift and decisive action to reduce dangerous levels of inequality; if they fail to tax extreme wealth, the results will be a perpetually weakened global economy, the decline of democratic institutions, and worsening social unrest. The G20 must act.”

The open letter was organized by inequality campaigners Patriotic Millionaires, the Institute for Policy Studies, Earth 4 All, Millionaires for Humanity, and Oxfam. The full list of signatories here.

Tax and wealth facts⁵

Only 4 cents in every dollar of tax revenue comes from wealth taxes.
Since 2020, the richest 1% have captured almost two-thirds of all new wealth. Billionaire fortunes are increasing by $2.7bn a day.
For every dollar of new wealth gained by someone in the bottom 90%, one of the world’s billionaires has gained $1.7m.
Half of all millionaires will not pay any inheritance tax and will pass on $5 trillion tax-free to the next generation.
The average tax rate on the richest has fallen from 58% in 1980 to 42% in OECD countries.
Tax on capital gains – typically the most important source of income for the top 1% – are only 18% on average across more than 100 countries.

¹ Inland Revenue, Tax and the Economic Income of the Wealthy, (April 2023) https://www.ird.govt.nz/-/media/project/ir/home/documents/about-us/high-wealth-research-project/hwi-research-project/factsheets-supporting-hwi-report/tax-and-the-economic-income-of-the-wealthy.pdf?modified=20230420234159 accessed on 31 August 2023

² Max Rashbrooke, New Zealand’s millionaires pay lower tax rates than millionaires – it’s time to fix the system, (April 2023) https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/apr/27/new-zealands-millionaires-pay-lower-tax-rates-than-cashiers-its-time-to-fix-the-system accessed on 31 August 2023

³ Oxfam Aotearoa, Aotearoa top 10 in global inequality index, but tax system’s inequality impact 136^th, (October 2022)

https://www.oxfam.org.nz/news-media/media-releases/aotearoa-top-10-in-global-inequality-index-but-tax-systems-inequality-impact-136th/ accessed on 31 August 2023

⁴ https://www.sharingwealth.nz/

⁵https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/survival-richest

CONTACT DETAILS

Rachel Schaevitz/ Oxfam Aotearoa Communications Manager / rachel.schaevitz@oxfam.org.nz

Unfair share report: Unequal climate finance to East Africa hunger crisis

September 5, 2023

Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan have incurred $7.4bn of livestock losses alone as a result of climate change

Despite being largely responsible for the worsening climate crisis in East Africa, rich nations paid Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan just $2.4 billion in climate-related development finance in 2021, in stark contrast to the $53.3 billion East Africa says it needs annually to meet its 2030 climate goals.

Oxfam’s “Unfair Share” Report published today, shows that the biggest polluting nations have fallen short of meeting both the climate and the humanitarian funds East African countries need to recover from their climate-fuelled hunger crisis. It highlights the impact of climate change on the future of the region.

Oxfam in Africa Director, Fati N’Zi-Hassane said: “Even by their own generous accounts, polluting nations have delivered only pittance to help East Africa scale up their mitigation and adaptation efforts. Nearly half the funds (45%) they did give were loans, plunging the region further into more debt.”

A prolonged drought and erratic rainfalls have killed nearly 13 million animals, and decimated hundreds of thousands of hectares of crops, leaving millions of people without income or food. These four East African countries have incurred up to an estimated $30 billion of losses from 2021 to the end of 2023. Oxfam calculates that these countries also lost approximately $7.4 billion worth of livestock.

As a result, over 40 million people across the four countries are suffering severe hunger because of a two-year drought and years of flooding, compounded by displacement and conflict. Despite the soaring humanitarian need, rich nations have only met about one third of the UN appeal for East Africa this year.

“At the heart of East Africa’s hunger crisis is an abhorrent climate injustice. Rich polluting nations continue to rig the system by disregarding the billions owed to East Africa, while millions of people are left to starve from repeated climate shocks,” said N’Zi-Hassane.

Industrialised economies have significantly contributed to the climate crisis, which now disproportionally affects regions like East Africa. The G7 countries and Russia alone have been responsible for 85 percent of global emissions since 1850. This is 850 times the emissions of Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan combined.

“Global financial institutions are also complicit in contributing to the debt spiral that many developing countries are in. Onerous repayment cycles (to IFIs, bilateral and private creditors) prevent vulnerable countries from adapting to climate change or fully recovering from these consecutive shocks, like climate-fuelled hunger crises..”

Extreme weather, now more severe and frequent, is the primary driver of hunger in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and in part in South Sudan, where climate change has made the drought 100 times more likely.

“These pummelling shocks have depleted people’s reserves, leaving those already vulnerable with nothing to fend for themselves. Since the last drought in 2017, the number of people who need urgent aid across the four countries has more than doubled – from 20.7 million to 43.5 million,” said N’Zi-Hassane.

The climate crisis has taken its toll especially on women and girls. Women in Somalia told Oxfam they now have to walk more than four hours every day to fetch water, often in treacherous journeys – a significantly increased distance compared to previous droughts. Too often, when food is scarce, mothers eat last and least; and girls are the first to be dropped out of school or married off at a young age so there is one less mouth to feed.

Nimo Suleiman, a displaced mother of two from Somaliland, said “I have witnessed previous droughts but I have never seen anything like this before. The closest water point for us is five kilometers away, the road to the water point is not safe and very hot, but our family’s survival depends on us making that journey.”

“At the first African Climate Summit, Oxfam urges African leaders to speak up and hold rich polluting nations to account for this climate crisis. Rich nations must immediately inject funds to meet the $8.74 billion UN humanitarian needs for East Africa in order to save lives now,” N’Zi-Hassane said.

“It is equally crucial for the biggest polluters to pay their fair share of the money East Africa needs to strengthen its efforts to help its most vulnerable citizens prepare for the next climatic shock. These funds must be sustainable, in the form of grants rather than loans.”

“Leading up to COP28, African voices must be loud in demanding rich polluting nations to drastically cut their emissions, and to compensate East Africa for all their climate loss and damage so that the region can recover from these worsening climate shocks.”

Notes to the Editors

Read Oxfam’s “Unfair Share” report.
Oxfam is holding a roundtable at the African Climate Summit on 5 Sept .
The $2.4 billion figure is based on the OECD records of “Climate-related development finance” statistics reported figures in 2021 for Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan, which capture both bilateral and multilateral climate-related external development finance flows. For more detail on the OECD methodology please see the OECD Methodology note.
Out of the total $2.4 billion funds provided, only $1.33 billion were in the form of grants (54.5%) while $1.09 billion were in the form of loans (45%). Source: OECD
The figure $53.3 billion is the four countries identified annual needed funds for the period 2021 to 2030, in their “National Determined Contributions” (NDCs) to enable them to implement their climate goals under the Paris Agreement. It includes: $62 billion for Kenya, $316 billion for Ethiopia, $55.5 billion for Somalia and $100 billion for South Sudan.
According to the UN Economic Commission for Africa, the East Africa region’s average annual loss from climate change until 2030 is 2-4% of its annual GDP. For Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan, the total combined GDP in 2022 is $260 Billion.
Oxfam calculated livestock loss for Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia based on 2021 and 2023 estimates of the total government reported loss of 12.95 million heads of livestock – including 6.85 million livestock in Ethiopia, 2.6 million livestock in Kenya and 3.5 million livestock in Somalia. Ethiopia and Somalia have not provided an estimate of the value of the lost livestock. The approximate cost of per animal head in the region is $ 576.9, totalling $7.2 Billion for all 12.95 million livestock lost.
Food insecurity figures are based on IPC classification of the number of people in crisis or worse levels of food insecurity (IPC3+) for Ethiopia (11.8 million), Kenya (5.4 million), Somalia (6.5 million) and South Sudan (7.7 million).
Humanitarian need figures is based on the 2023 UN Humanitarian Response Plans for Ethiopia, Somalia and South Sudan and Kenya.
Humanitarian need figures for 2017 are based on 2017 Humanitarian Response Document for Ethiopia; Somalia and South Sudan , and the 2017 Flash Appeal for Kenya.

Contact Information

Rachel Schaevitz, Communication Manager, rachel.schaevitz@oxfam.org.nz

Water dilemmas: The cascading impacts of water insecurity in a heating world

August 24, 2023

Climate-induced water insecurity poses one of the biggest threats to humanity and will lead to more hunger, disease and displacement

Today, during World Water Week, Oxfam publishes the first of its series of reports, “Water Dilemmas”, about the growing water crisis, in large part driven by global heating from greenhouse gas emissions. The report describes how climate change will impact water security in different regions, leading to more hunger, disease and displacement.

Carlos Calderon, Humanitarian Advocacy and Partnerships Lead for Oxfam Aotearoa said, “This new Oxfam research is focused on the global Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WaSH) situation, but it paints a picture that illustrates the complexity of elements that, combined, will continue to increasingly affect women, girls, boys and men in the decades to come. Changing weather, poverty, inequality, gender-based violence, political instability and conflicts are impacting the availability and quality of adequate water systems. All governments, particularly those from rich countries, should responsively take action at a global scale. The clock is ticking. Our children will judge us for our actions today, or for the lack of them.”

Nafkote Dabi, Oxfam Global Climate Justice Lead, said: “While global warming is being caused by oil, coal and gas, its harm is fundamentally being experienced as a global water crisis. This poses one of the biggest threats to humanity and will lead to more hunger, more disease and more displacement, especially for the countries and communities least prepared for climate change.”

Oxfam in Africa Water and Sanitation Lead, Betty Ojeny, who is working on the frontline of the drought response in East Africa, said: “One in five boreholes we dig now in the region I work, ends up dry or with water that is unfit for humans to drink. We have to dig deeper wells, through baked soils, which means more expensive breakages. This is happening at a time when donor funding for water is declining.”

“We’re having to use expensive desalination technologies that are sometimes glitchy, especially in the more hostile terrains where we have to work. We’re seeing climate change biting now and these problems are only going to get worse,” Ojeny said.

Ojeny works in Oxfam’s biggest current humanitarian response in East Africa where over 32 million people are facing acute hunger and starvation because of a five-season drought, made worse by conflict and poverty. Areas elsewhere in the same region are being hit by destructive flash floods and unpredictable rains, devastating people’s crops and livelihoods.

“Global warming is increasing the frequency and severity of disasters, including floods and droughts, which will be hitting countries harder and more often in years to come. The huge lack of investment in strengthening water systems is leaving countries open to catastrophe,” Dabi said.

The report found that by 2040, East Africa could be hit by an 8 percent rise in precipitation, with a cycle of floods and droughts leading to a potentially catastrophic 30 percent rise in surface runoff. This washes away nutrients from exhausted soils, and destroys infrastructure. It says 50-60 million more people could be at risk of malaria by 2030.

It says the West Africa region will suffer similar problems as a result of this water crisis. Both regions are facing 8-15% more intense heatwaves and falls in labour productivity by 11-15%, amid mass migration, rising poverty and hunger, crop changes and livestock loss, and more water-driven conflicts.

“Already today, because of droughts, many of Oxfam’s installed water systems are rendered obsolete as pastoralist communities are forced to migrate to look for new pasturelands. This is undermining the communal management of water, which is key for sustainability and enhancing people’s resilience,” Ojeny said.

“In South Sudan we already see flooding washing away sanitation facilities and submerging boreholes, rendering them useless. More water-borne diseases like cholera are putting immense pressure not only on our water and sanitation work, and also stretching our public health operations too,” she said.

By contrast, the report says across the Middle East region by 2040, rainfall will decrease markedly instead, as will water levels and river runoff, sparking worsening food security. Heatwaves will rise by 16% leading to a drop in labour productivity of 7%, with water prices rising with the demand.

Countries across Asia meanwhile will be affected more by sea-level rise, potentially over half a meter by 2100. Along with surface run-off and glacier melt, this will affect fresh groundwater aquifers, especially in coastal areas where hundreds of millions of people live. The report also signals more heatwaves in Asia (8%) and a decline in labour productivity, by 7%, leading to more poverty and migration. It says diseases like malaria and dengue could rise by a staggering 183%.

All this will have knock-on effects on people’s food sources and productivity, fuelling hunger. Oxfam calculates that in 10 of the world’s worst climate hotspots, chronic hunger is projected to rise by a third in 2050 as a result of climate change – that is 11.3 million more people going hungry than without climate change – a landslide derailing of the UN’s “zero hunger” target.

The reports says that decades of underinvestment in water systems, poor water management, and erosion, pollution and overuse of subterranean aquifers are worsening this water crisis. Millions of already disadvantaged people are now left ill-equipped to face the harmful consequences of the climate crisis. Only 32% of the $3.8 billion global UN humanitarian appeals for water and sanitation was funded last year and countries most at risk of water insecurity are failing to invest in water infrastructure.

“The worst scenarios that the world needed to avoid have already begun. Under today’s emissions trajectories, billions of people face no safe future in the worsening water crisis, happening under such political nonchalance. Rich polluting nations must immediately and drastically cut their emissions, and fund water infrastructure in poor communities.”

“We are still able to alter course toward safety if we choose, but we must act fast. Governments need to fundamentally refocus their attention and investment into our water systems as an absolute policy priority. They must urgently meet the UN’s $114 billion-a-year ambition for the water, sanitation and hygiene sector, which will save lives today and impact virtually every other UN goal for 2030,” Dabi said.

Contact details

Please contact:

Rachel Schaevitz | Communications Manager | rachel.schaevitz@oxfam.org.nz

Carlos Calderon | Humanitarian Lead | carlos.calderon@oxfam.org.nz

Notes to Editor:

Read Oxfam’s “Water Dilemmas” report. The report builds on existing scientific literature and climate models, along with witnessed and anecdotal evidence, to highlight the impacts of climate-driven water insecurity on food insecurity, conflicts, displacement and migration, gender inequality and disease in four regions (Asia; Middle East; West Africa; Horn, Eastern and Central Africa or HECA).
For decades Oxfam has supported millions of highly vulnerable people with life-saving water and sanitation systems, in partnership with authorities, local partners and communities around the world. Oxfam is a leading agency in the humanitarian and development water and sanitation sector.
Last year, Oxfam looked at 10 of the world’s worst climate hotspots – Somalia, Haiti, Djibouti, Kenya, Niger, Afghanistan, Guatemala, Madagascar, Burkina Faso, and Zimbabwe – which have repeatedly been battered by extreme weather over the last two decades – and found that their hunger more than doubled in just six years. The 10 worst climate hotspots were calculated looking at countries with the highest number of extreme weather-related UN appeals since 2000, where climate was classified as a “major contributor” to these appeals. Source: Oxfam’s “Footing the Bill” report May 2022 and Oxfam’s “Hunger in a Heating World” report Sept 2022.
Projections of the population at risk of hunger in the 10 countries by 2050 with and without climate change are from the International Food Policy Research Institute’s (IFPRI) International Model for Policy Analysis of Commodities and Trade (IMPACT). Globally, IFPRI projects that about 70 million more people will be at risk of hunger because of climate change in 2050, including 28 million additional people in East and Southern Africa. Source: 2022 IFPRI Report: Climate Change and Food Systems
Only 32% of the $3.8 billion global humanitarian appeal for the WASH sector for 2022 was funded. Source: UN OCHA Financial Tracking Service.
The UN SDG6 states that meeting the water, sanitation and hygiene 2030 target requires increasing progress six-fold
In East Africa, over 32 million people across Ethiopia (20.1 million), Kenya (5.4 million) and Somalia (6.6 million) are estimated to be experiencing crisis or worse levels of hunger. Source: Ethiopia’s Humanitarian Response Plan for 2023 , Kenya’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) March-May 2023 report, and Somalia’s IPC report April- June 2023