Media Releases

Obscene amount of aid is going back into the pockets of rich countries

April 13, 2023

Today, the Development Assistance Committee of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD DAC) its preliminary figures on the amount of development aid for 2022.

In response, Marc Cohen, Oxfam aid expert, said:

“In 2022, rich countries pocketed an obscene 14.4 percent of aid. They robbed the world’s poorest people of a much-needed lifeline in a time of multiple crises.

“Donors have turned their aid pledges into a farce. Not only have they undelivered more than 193 billion dollars, but they also funneled nearly 30 billion dollars into their own pockets by mislabeling what counts as aid. They continue to inflate their aid budgets by including vaccine donations, the costs of hosting refugees, and by profiting off development aid loans. It is time for a system with teeth to hold them to account and make sure aid goes to the poorest people in the poorest countries.

“There is no room for excuses. We can’t allow rich countries to argue their pockets are empty. Donor governments could raise over a trillion dollars annually through a modest wealth tax alone. The only thing lacking is the political will to put the poorest before the rich.”

Notes to editors

Dollars are in USD.

The 2022 aid figures are available on the OECD website. The data shows that overall aid spending from 30 OECD members summed 204 billion US dollars in 2022. Rich countries only committed 0.36 percent of their gross national income (GNI) to development aid – up from 0.33 percent in 2021, but far below the 0.7 percent they promised in 1970. In 2022, just 5 countries – Luxembourg, Norway, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark – lived up to this promise.

The level of development assistance for the world’s poorest countries remains far below what is needed to end poverty by 2030 and meet the Sustainable Development Goals. The share remains far below the UN’s goal of 0.15 percent of rich countries’ GNI. This year it is less than 0.1 percent. Donor spending on hosting refugees (called “in-donor refugee costs”) accounts for 14.4 percent of ODA (29.3 billion).

While total Official Development Assistance (ODA) from the Development Assistance Committee (DAC) members rose by 13.6 percent in real terms, that increase falls to just 4.6 percent if in-donor refugee costs are excluded.

More than 50 years after rich countries agreed on the 0.7 percent target, only seven have ever met or exceeded it. Oxfam estimates that this has cost low and middle-income countries $6.5 trillion in undelivered aid between 1970 and 2021.

Donor countries mislabel the following as development aid (intended to fight poverty):

In donor-refugee costs: Sweden announced the redirection of nearly one-fifth of its aid budget to fund the reception of refugees from Ukraine. The government has since backtracked (though about 430m US dollars is still being redirected to refugee reception) because of strong public pressure from civil society and the fact that it overestimated the number of refugees. This is not development aid as it is spent in Sweden.
Vaccines: Vaccine donations made up a total of 0.8 percent of aid (1.54 billion USD). Virtually all of the donations (1.52 billion US dollars of 1.54 billion, or 99 percent) were domestic vaccines hoarded by rich countries. This move to include vaccine donations in aid budgets last year was labelled by Oxfam as throwing out the aid rulebook.
Profiting off development aid loans: Since 2018, DAC members have been using a new methodology to assess the concessionality of loans for development purposes. Previously, they had to use a cash flow approach. This meant that donor countries could count the full amount of their loans as development aid, but they had to subtract loan repayments from their aid total. The new method uses a fixed interest rate to judge the grant element in the loans. The fixed interest rate is high, so donors are getting more credit for their loans than they should, which, in turn, encourages them to offer more loans.

Oxfam calculates that a progressive net wealth tax of up to 5% in OECD DAC countries alone would add just under 1.1 trillion US dollars to their budgets each year. This is just one way to increase the spending power of rich countries to tackle poverty, inequality and the climate crisis, including meeting their aid commitments.

Oxfam Aotearoa welcomes landmark UN vote to seek ICJ Advisory Opinion on Climate Change

March 31, 2023

Oxfam Aotearoa congratulates Pacific Island Students Fighting Climate Change (PISFCC) on their successful campaign to put the world’s Governments’ responses to climate change before the International Court of Justice (ICJ). Oxfam Aotearoa’s climate justice lead Nick Henry said:

“Well done to the New Zealand Government for standing with the Pacific at the UN today on Vanuatu’s resolution. This is what we want to see from our government.

“To put this into perspective, the last comparable opinion was in 1996, when, after a long campaign from civil society, the ICJ issued an advisory opinion on nuclear weapons that was critical to nuclear disarmament and keeping the Pacific nuclear free.

“The world’s governments, especially in rich countries, must urgently take stronger action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stop the climate crisis getting worse. A strong opinion from the ICJ would help to hold governments to account on their obligations to act.”

Spokesperson for PISFCC Solomon Yeo said: “Today we celebrate four years of arduous work in convincing our leaders and raising global awareness on the initiative. We commend the undying support of our Pacific civil society organisations, communities, and youth who, without their support, we would not have ventured this far.

“The adopted Resolution is a testament that Pacific youth can play an instrumental role in advancing global climate action. This further solidifies why young people’s voices must remain an integral part of the process. Now the first stage is over, we look to join hand in hand with governments and partners in bringing the world’s biggest problem to the world’s highest court.”

Oxfam Aotearoa and NZ Centre for Environmental Law says it looks forward to engaging with the government on its written and oral submissions to the court to make sure the Advisory Opinion sets clear expectations for states to act with urgency to stop the climate crisis.

Notes:

The UN General Assembly has voted to request an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on ‘the obligations of States in respect of climate change’. The resolution asks the ICJ to clarify the obligations of states to take effective action on climate change, as well as the consequences under international law for states that fail to act.
Here is the UN resolution text.

New offshore oil and gas permit a betrayal of the Pacific

March 31, 2023

“We’re deeply concerned to learn that just as Pacific leaders have launched a call for a Just Transition to a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific, the New Zealand Government has decided to grant a new fossil fuel exploration permit,” says Oxfam Aotearoa Climate Justice Lead Nick Henry.

“This announcement makes a mockery of New Zealand’s commitment to climate action. It’s unthinkable that in the wake of Cyclone Gabrielle, the Government is taking action that reverses our progress on reducing climate pollution from fossil fuels.

“The latest IPCC report has reiterated what we already knew: that even just burning the fossil fuels in known reserves would put us beyond 1.5 degrees of warming. We simply cannot go out looking for more.

“Our government must stand with the Pacific and immediately end all oil and gas exploration on land and at sea. We call Minister James Shaw to endorse the Port Vila Call and demonstrate that we are a meaningful ally for climate justice.”

Notes:

Offshore petroleum permit granted and Block Offer 2020 tender opens
Pacific leaders launched the Port Vila Call for a Just Transition to a Fossil Fuel Free Pacific just this month. In it, they have called for ‘halting all new licensing rounds for oil and gas and setting a Paris-aligned end date for production.’
Oxfam Aotearoa is calling for supporters to stand with the Pacific and call on Minister for Climate Change of New Zealand James Shaw to show that we stand with the Pacific, and endorse the Port Vila Call: https://www.oxfam.org.nz/fossil-fuel-free-pacific/

Oxfam response to NZ Government’s announcement of an ETS review

March 22, 2023

In response to the NZ Government’s announcement of an ETS review, Oxfam Aotearoa Climate Justice Lead Nick Henry said:

“The Government must urgently end fossil fuel production and stop pretending we can plant our way out of the climate crisis. Our government must set a clear direction for a just transition away from fossil fuels by ending all licensing of exploration for oil, gas and coal. While there is a role for pricing carbon emissions, we also need to see stronger government leadership to urgently phase out fossil fuel production. In addition, Government should negotiate with iwi and support a transition to nature-based solutions that restore native forests and wetlands as carbon sinks.

“This week’s IPCC report showed the urgent need to make deep cuts to carbon emissions to keep global temperature increase below 1.5 degrees. But a recent assessment from Climate Action Tracker showed New Zealand’s climate action is Highly Insufficient – just one step above their worst possible rating. If all countries followed New Zealand’s approach, we’d be on track for 3 or even 4 degrees of warming.”

Oxfam Aotearoa supports a review into the role of plantation forestry offsets in the New Zealand Emissions Trading Scheme. Oxfam says it would like to see the Government prioritise equity in the review, including for iwi and Māori landowners who hold significant forestry assets.

Amitabh Behar appointed as interim Executive Director of Oxfam International

March 22, 2023

Oxfam International is pleased to announce the appointment of Amitabh Behar as its new interim Executive Director. Behar is currently Executive Director for Oxfam India. He will assume the role for approximately 12 months, starting on 1 May 2023.

Behar said that he is “honoured and delighted to take up this role” and eager to “work alongside Oxfam’s partners and allies around the world to fight for climate justice, tackle inequality in all its forms, and save, protect and rebuild lives when disaster strikes.”

Behar, who has made valuable contributions to Oxfam’s global transformation process that has seen the confederation become more aligned and globally balanced since joining Oxfam India in 2018, brings a wealth of leadership experience as a civil society leader. He has been widely recognized for his work on people-centric advocacy, governance accountability, social and economic equality, and citizen participation. Prior to Oxfam, Behar was the Executive Director of the National Foundation for India and Co-Chair of the Global Call to Action Against Poverty. He has also served as the Vice-Chair of the Board of CIVICUS and Board Chair of Amnesty International India. He currently serves on the boards of several other organisations, including the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability, an Indian public policy think-tank.

Gabriela Bucher is joining The Fund for Global Human Rights on 31 April. Bucher congratulated Behar on his appointment and said she would begin immediately to work closely with him to ensure a smooth transition of leadership. Oxfam International’s Board of Supervisors is profoundly grateful to Bucher for her leadership and wishes her the very best as she moves on to new challenges.

Oxfam reaction to IPCC’s Synthesis Report

March 21, 2023

Responding to the publication today of the IPCC’s Synthesis Report (SYR), Oxfam’s Climate Justice Lead Nick Henry said:

“This is, literally, the last chapter. The science shows that limiting global heating to 1.5°C is still possible —but only just. Unless we pull the emergency brake on deadly carbon pollution, ‘unheard-of’ heatwaves, storms, droughts and floods will continue to become more frequent and hit more places and people. People living in poverty are bearing the brunt of these climate-induced crises, including mass hunger happening now in Eastern Africa, with a rise of just 1.1°C.

“It’s outrageous that after six massive IPCC reports, 27 climate change conferences, eight hottest years on record, and multiple one-in-one-hundred year extreme weather events —with emissions still rising— governments continue to encourage the oil and gas industry to drill deeper and wider for fossil fuels. More than 600 fossil fuel lobbyists were at COP27 and an oil boss will lead the next climate talks in Dubai.

“Oil giants raked in record profits in 2022. They are extracting these riches from a stricken planet. Their statements of ecological concern ring hollow. If governments had clawed back the massive profits that oil and gas producers funneled to their rich shareholders last year, they could have increased global investments in renewable energy by nearly one-third.

“We can tackle the climate crisis and end poverty. This is not an either-or. If the richest 1 percent stopped squandering so much carbon on private jets, big polluting cars and investments in fossil fuels, the poorest half of humanity could grow their tiny carbon footprints to get their basic needs met.

“To stay within the 1.5°C guardrail, every person on Earth would need to stay below an average of 2.2 tons of CO2 emissions per year by 2030. The richest 1 percent exhaust this remaining ‘carbon budget’ in just 12 days each year, while the poorest 50 percent of humanity emits less than half over an entire year. This inequality is absolutely ridiculous.

“There’s only a sliver of a chance of limiting heating to 1.5°C but we can’t throw in the towel. Every fraction of a degree of heating prevented will be counted in millions of lives saved. Even a half-degree could make it much more difficult to grow crops, raise animals and catch fish.

“We need funds for climate action and deep cuts to emissions —not just by the richest countries, but also by the wealthiest individuals and corporations. Rich countries are most responsible for the climate crisis and must pay their debt to poorer countries by providing sufficient money for adaption, shifting to renewable energy, and addressing loss and damage. There is neither enough time nor carbon left for empty pledges and false solutions like carbon capture and storage. Endless adaptation to climate change is not possible —we need a fast and equitable phase-out of fossil fuels. Otherwise, a catastrophe for people in every country will be just around the corner, and it will be painful.”

Notes

According to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), the past eight years were the warmest on record globally, fueled by ever-rising greenhouse gas concentrations and accumulated heat.

At least 363 fossil fuel lobbyists were granted access to COP27.

Big Oil more than doubled its profits in 2022 to US$219 billion, more than the GDP of many countries. According to Janus Henderson Investors, the dividends of oil and gas producers totaled US$151.8 billion in 2022. The IEA reports that $472 billion was invested in renewable power in 2022. (151.8/472)*100 equals 32.2 percent.

Keeping to 1.5°C would require limiting emissions to 17Gt of CO2. Divided equally among the global population, this is approximately 2.2 tons per person. The richest 1 percent will emit this amount of carbon in 12 days, the richest 10 percent in slightly over a month, and the poorest half of humanity will emit less than half over an entire year. These calculations are based on analysis published in Oxfam’s “Carbon Inequality in 2030” briefing note in 2021. Oxfam will publish new research on carbon inequality in 2023.

Oxfam’s research found that the investments of just 125 billionaires emit 393 million tons 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.

According to the World Inequality Lab, eradicating global poverty below US$5.50 would entail an increase in carbon emissions of approximately 18 percent. This is roughly equivalent to the emissions of the richest 1 percent (15 percent between 1990 and 2015).