United States

As climate negotiations in Tianjin, China, closed today, international development agency Oxfam said the outline of an agreement on a set of decisions at the Cancun summit in December are beginning to appear, but governments will need to work with real urgency to achieve real progress this year.

In reaction to the announcement that climate change legislation is delayed by the United States Senate, perhaps indefinitely, David Waskow of Oxfam, made the following statement:

Oxfam America commends the US Congress for making disclosure of payments from oil and mining companies to governments around the world a legal requirement. This historic measure will increase financial transparency and help reduce corruption.

Oxfam International is heartened by Secretary Clinton’s commitment to significant financial resources of $100 billion dollars a year by 2020 to help developing countries weather the negative impacts of climate change.

Oxfam was pleased to hear that the new US strategy for Afghanistan will support ministries and local leaders that deliver for the Afghan people and combat corruption, and that there will be more focused assistance on agriculture, as up to 80 percent of Afghans rely on agriculture to survive.

President Obama has the opportunity to chart a new course for US policy in Afghanistan by taking the urgent steps needed to reverse the slide into a major humanitarian crisis.