G20

European leaders failed today to meet the expectations they had raised of cracking down on tax dodging at a summit in Brussels. In reaction, Catherine Olier, Oxfam’s EU Policy Adviser, said:

Oxfam believes that reducing inequality is fundamental to fair and sustainable development.

With abnormally high food prices and slowing efforts to tackle global hunger, the Committee on World Food Security (CFS) must now energize governments to begin fixing the broken global food system, at its annual meeting in Rome from Oct 15 – 20.

This paper shows how concerns about land and food rights around the world, both major campaigning priorities for Oxfam, are closely linked to EU biofuel mandates.

Land used to power European cars with biofuels for one year could produce enough wheat and maize to feed 127 million people. With the world’s poorest at greater risk of hunger as a result of spiraling food prices, the EU must rethink its dangerous love affair with biofuels.

The Food and Agricultural Organisation's Food Price Index has today revealed that global food prices have remained at peak levels.

Responding to the

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said today at the G20 that he expects agreement on a Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) to be reached soon.

The G20 leading economies have sidelined development and food security at their summit in Los Cabos.

Europe’s crisis must be fixed because it is becoming a serious drain on developing countries already reeling from volatile food prices and aid cuts. But it’s not good enough for the G20 to fixate on Europe and forget about the rest of the world.