The world's poorest people, increasingly buffeted by storms, floods and droughts, have been getting less than 1 cent a day each in international help to protect them from wild weather and rising seas as the Earth heats up, Oxfam said.
"Millions of people are already living with the threat of deadly storms, rising floodwater and failed crops," said Danny Sriskandarajah, chief executive of Oxfam GB. "Wealthy nations...should take urgent action to reduce emissions and provide financial support to the poorest communities to cope with the impact of climate change,"
In the past year, drought in the Horn of Africa has left more than 15 million people in need of aid in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, while in Mozambique, 2.6 million require essentials after two powerful cyclones caused devastation, Oxfam said. Yet cash for poor communities and countries to stay safe from weather shocks including storms and floods, and to cope with chronic stresses like drought has been slow to come. Oxfam calculated that, after excluding loans that must be repaid, the 48 least-developed countries received $2.4 billion-$3.4 billion in both 2015 and 2016 - the latest data available - equalling $2.50-$3.50 per inhabitant per year.
Niranjali Amerasinghe, executive director of ActionAid USA, said rich countries were still "nowhere near close to pulling their weight" on climate finance. She noted - as did Oxfam's report - that the bulk of money is being given as loans that must be paid back.
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