climate

Europeans may still be forced to buy biofuels made from food crops until 2030, as a result of the deal struck by EU member states and the European Parliament this morning on the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II), Oxfam said.

Oxfam country teams and partner organizations in the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba are now preparing to respond to probable damage from the impact of Hurricane Irma, to help people who are likely to be hardest-hit there.

In its proposed new Renewable Energy Directive, the European Commission has given in to the pressure of the biofuel industry lobby at the expense of people and the climate. The proposal would allow EU countries to rely on food-based biofuels to meet their 2030 climate and energy targets, notwithstanding strong evidence of their harmful impact on communities and the environment.

The European Union must overhaul its current bioenergy policy, which is based on getting fuel from plants, because the industry is linked to the eviction of thousands of people from their lands, out-competing food crops, and creating more not less pollution, says Oxfam in a new report.

Close to four million refugees and asylum seekers have fled from one conflict zone to another, Oxfam said today ahead of two summits on migration in New York next week.

This paper focuses on concerns related to the EU’s growing bioenergy use, which is being driven by EU climate and energy policies. It focuses on the practicalities of implementing sustainability safeguards in all energy uses of biomass, including electricity, heating and transport.

Oxfam water and hygiene expert Carlos Calderon has landed in Fiji, where Oxfam is gearing up its aid efforts following the complete destruction left by Cyclone Winston. 

Zimbabwe has declared a 'state of disaster' regarding drought in the country that has been triggered by El Nino. With one in five Zimbabweans facing food struggles, Oxfam says this could shock the international community into action.

South Africa is facing its smallest maize harvest since 2007 this year as record-high temperatures and drought continue to hit its agricultural sector. According the government’s Crop Estimates Committee, only 7.44 million tons of maize is likely to be harvested in 2016 - that’s 25 percent less than the 9.94 million tons reaped.