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Climate change is already forcing people from their land and homes, and putting many more at risk of displacement in the future. This paper describes the effects on communities and how responding to these growing realities demands far stronger action towards ending global climate pollution.

Governments must build back better low carbon economies post the pandemic to avoid fuelling the climate crisis, warned Oxfam today ahead of the Petersberg Climate Dialogue on 6-7 May. The virtual meeting will bring together government ministers from across the globe to discuss international climate action ahead of this year’s critical UN summit COP26 in autumn.

Climate finance efforts by developed countries are at a critical juncture. There are only two years before the deadline by which developed countries have committed to jointly mobilize $100bn per year to support climate action in developing countries. This briefing paper offers an assessment of progress towards this goal.

Climate-fuelled disasters were the number one driver of internal displacement over the last decade – forcing an estimated 20 million people a year from their homes. While no one is immune, it is overwhelmingly poor countries that are most at risk.

Responding to the final communiqué of the COP25 climate talks in Madrid, Chema Vera, Interim Executive Director of Oxfam International, said: “The world is screaming out for climate action but this summit has responded with a whisper. The poorest nations are in a sprint for survival yet many governments have barely moved from the starting blocks."

The world has entered a new and dangerous era of climate change impacts, causing huge loss and damage and driving up inequality in the world’s poorest countries that have contributed least to the climate crisis. Yet, new research by Oxfam estimates that nearly half of funding requirements for UN humanitarian appeals linked to extreme weather have gone unmet.

Battered by cyclones and ravaged by extreme drought, poor communities in the Horn of Africa and Mozambique have found themselves on the front line of a climate crisis they did little to create.

The contentious issue of financial support for communities, including displaced communities, which have suffered loss and damage as a result of the climate crisis is expected to take center stage at the UN Climate Summit in Madrid from 2 – 13 December 2019.

Responding to the UK Government’s announcement that G7 leaders will agree to new financing for infrastructure projects in developing countries and an increase international climate finance, Oxfam's climate change lead Nafkote Dabi said: "This plan could support green development in poorer countries, but it is lacking in detail including on who will foot the bill."

Cyclone Yasa landfall in Fiji yesterday, carrying destructive winds of up to 345km/h, heavy rain and storm swells, has flattened homes and left major devastation to roads, and vegetation. More than 600,000 people in the South Pacific island nation are now affected, thousands of which are already in evacuation centers as the tropical storm disrupted access to essential utilities including water supply and sanitation facilities, as well as food.