Oxfam calls on Scottish Government to boost Climate Justice Fund

Oxfam has urged the Scottish Government to boost support to developing countries on the frontline of the climate crisis through increased funding for the Climate Justice Fund.

Calling on ministers to increase payments through the fund from £3m per year to £10m, head of Oxfam Scotland Jamie Livingstone said “the Scottish Government’s actions must match its words”.

It comes after a new report found that, between 1990 and 2015, the carbon emissions of the richest one per cent of the world’s population were more than double those of the three billion people who make up the poorest half.

Oxfam Scotland marked the report, Confronting Carbon Inequality, by calling on all parties to use the 2016 Scottish Parliament elections to show a greater commitment to climate justice.

The research found that the richest one per cent of the global population accounted for 15 percent of emissions between 1990 and 2015, more than twice that of the poorest half of humanity.

The richest 10 per cent were responsible for over half of carbon dioxide emissions.

The Scottish Government has committed to a 75 per cent cut in emissions by 2030 and to reach net zero by 2045.

Jamie Livingstone, head of Oxfam Scotland, said: “The global climate emergency hasn’t gone away, while the richest people continue to plunder the planet, the peril facing the world’s poorest communities grows ever graver.

“It’s a cruel irony that those who are being hit first and worst by the climate emergency did least to cause it. That’s why the richest people everywhere, including in countries like Scotland, who bear greatest responsibility, have a moral duty to act and to act quickly. 

 “And while cutting emissions quickly is critical, it is simply unconscionable to leave poor communities to deal with disasters they didn’t create. It cannot be right that our level of financial support for those on the front line of the climate crisis has fallen amid spiralling climate devastation.

“Ahead of COP26, the Scottish Government’s actions must match its words to show a watching world that its commitment to climate action runs deeper than ambitious climate promises.”