climate finance

In October 2024, Oxfam published “Climate Finance Unchecked,” a report diving into a significant oversight in the World Bank’s climate finance record-keeping. Specifically, the Bank’s method estimates climate finance only at the time projects are approved, with no assessment of climate finance when projects close. This might not seem like a big deal, but it’s common for projects to change during implementation —for example, adjustments to budgets, timelines and objectives. We’ve put together a short FAQ to explain what we found and why it matters.

Fifty of the world’s richest billionaires on average produce more carbon through their investments, private jets and yachts.

Up to $41 billion in World Bank climate finance —nearly 40 percent of all climate funds disbursed by the Bank over the past seven years— is not being properly tracked due to poor record-keeping practices, reveals a new Oxfam report published today ahead of the World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings in Washington D.C. 

Rich countries have again effectively short-changed low- and middle-income countries as part of international climate change negotiations by as much as $88 billion in 2022, the latest year of newly reported figures, says Oxfam.

In response to the outcome of the June UN Climate Meetings (SB60) in Bonn, Germany, Nafkote Dabi, Oxfam International’s Climate Change Policy Lead, said: "This year’s climate talks felt like treading water in a rising tide, with the world’s biggest economies failing to act with the urgency this crisis demands. Rich countries continue to shirk their responsibilities in contributing their fair share to the global effort to reduce carbon pollution."

On the term “abatement” appearing in the final text regarding the phase out of fossil fuels, Oxfam International’s Climate Change Policy Lead Nafkote Dabi said: “Abatement linked to fossil fuel phase out is a gift served on a silver platter to the fossil fuel industry they will gladly seize to dodge any commitments. It is a dangerous trick that will have catastrophic impacts on communities who are already in a vulnerable position due to climate breakdown.

Global climate finance levels are woefully insufficient to keep warming below 1.5°C or protect people from the devastating impacts of climate breakdown —and this gap is particularly evident in countries mired in conflict or that are unable to provide basic services for their communities. 

In response to the COP28 decision to advance the establishment of a loss and damage fund, Lyndsay Walsh, Oxfam’s Climate Policy Advisor, said: “After 32 years of pressure and 27 COPs, we finally have a loss and damage fund. Despite the shortcomings in its structure, this is a very welcome step towards supporting people recovering from the severe and irreparable consequences of climate-fueled disasters. However, this isn’t the end of the journey."

In response to the United Nations Environment Program’s Adaptation Gap Report 2023, Nafkote Dabi, Oxfam International’s Climate Change Policy Lead, said: “The report underlines how the gap in adaptation funding —at its ‘highest ever’ amid accelerating climate breakdown— must be addressed with the utmost urgency next month in Dubai."

As global greenhouse emissions continue to rise, and climate change wreaks more havoc upon the people and places least responsible for the problem, rich polluting countries are now three years overdue on their promise to mobilize $100 billion a year in climate finance for low- and middle-income countries.