The coronavirus pandemic has the potential to lead to an increase in inequality in almost every country at once, the first time this has happened since records began. The virus has exposed, fed off and increased existing inequalities of wealth, gender and race. Over two million people have died, and hundreds of millions of people are being forced into poverty while many of the richest – individuals and corporations – are thriving. Billionaire fortunes returned to their pre-pandemic highs in just nine months, while recovery for the world’s poorest people could take over a decade.
Reports
Shelter From The Storm Report
As 2020 draws to a close, the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic shows no sign of abating. Without urgent action, global poverty and inequality will deepen dramatically. Hundreds of millions of people have already lost their jobs, gone further into debt or skipped meals for months. Research by Oxfam and Development Pathways shows that over 2 billion people have had no support from their governments in their time of need.
Our analysis shows that none of the social protection support to those who are unemployed, elderly people, children and families provided in low- and middle-income countries has been adequate to meet basic needs. 41% of that government support was only a one-off payment and almost all government support has now stopped.
Decades of social policy focused on tiny levels of means-tested support have left most countries completely unprepared for the COVID-19 economic crisis. Yet, countries such as South Africa and Bolivia have shown that a universal approach to social protection is affordable, and that it has a profound impact on reducing inequality and protecting those who need it most.
Standing With The Frontlines Report
Boosting climate finance for developing and climate-vulnerable countries is a key part of fulfilling the Paris Agreement. New Zealand should double its climate finance to get closer to doing its fair share towards the USD 100 billion goal.
New Zealand’s funding of climate action overseas is crucial to supporting our neighbours in the Pacific and beyond to adapt to the escalating impacts of climate breakdown and transition to a clean energy future.
Sign the Bighearts petition, calling for a boost to New Zealand’s overseas aid and climate action here
Later Will Be Too Late Report
In 2017, extreme hunger was the defining humanitarian crisis, with four countries on the brink of famine and 30 million people in dire need of food assistance for survival. International outcry led to a late but robust reaction that prevented the descent into full famines in all four countries.
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic is the defining global crisis, but the virus brings even greater hunger in its wake. State economies are collapsing, and millions can no longer afford food. More people are experiencing extreme hunger today than in 2017, but no equivalent reaction is on the horizon.
Fighting inequality in the time of Covid-19 Report
COVID-19 hit a world woefully unprepared to fight it, because countries had failed to choose policies to fight inequality. Only one in six countries assessed for the CRI Index 2020 were spending enough on health, only a third of the global workforce had adequate social protection, and in more than 100 countries at least one in three workers had no labour protection such as sick pay. As a result, many have faced death and destitution, and inequality is increasing dramatically. Governments such as South Korea have shown the way forward in combining recovery from COVID-19 with fighting inequality.
Click here to read ‘Fighting inequality in the time of Covid-19′ report
Carbon Inequality Report
In the 25 years from 1990 to 2015, annual global carbon emissions grew by 60%, approximately doubling total global cumulative emissions. This has brought the world perilously close to exceeding 2°C of warming, and it is now on the verge of exceeding 1.5°C. This paper examines the starkly different contributions of different income groups to carbon emissions in this period. It draws on new data that provides much improved insight into global and national income inequality, combined with national consumption emissions over this 25-year period, to provide an analysis relating emissions to income levels for the populations of 117 countries. Future scenarios of carbon inequality are also presented based on different possible trajectories of economic growth and carbon emissions, highlighting the challenge of ensuring a more equitable distribution of the remaining and rapidly diminishing global carbon budget.
Click here to read ‘The Carbon Inequality Report’ Report
Click here for the ‘Media Brief – Confronting Carbon Inequality’
