Demonstrators with climate change activist group Extinction Rebellion scale the exterior of the Chamber of Commerce building and release colored smoke during an October 14 protest in Washington, D.C. Oxfam on Tuesday reported that the funding needed to assist countries facing weather emergencies brought on by climate change has increased 800% in the past two decades. File Photo by Sarah Silbiger/UPI |
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June 7 (UPI) -- The funding needed to assist communities facing extreme weather-related emergencies has increased by more than 800% in the past 20 years, according to a study released on Tuesday.
Between 2000 and 2002 the United Nations required an average of $1.6 billion in funding each year for humanitarian projects following extreme weather events but that total increased to $15.5 billion each year from 2019-21 as the effects of climate change worsened, according to the study published by Oxfam.
Last year was the third costliest year on record for droughts, floods, wildfires and other extreme weather events with the total economic costs estimated at $329 billion.
That number was also more than double the amount of aid donated by wealthy nations to poorer countries through the U.N. humanitarian fund, with poorer nations requesting $63-$75 billion and receiving $35-$42 billion.
"Funding for emergency humanitarian response is piecemeal and painfully inadequate, as is broader support to address loss and damage such as rebuilding homes and vital infrastructure," Oxfam said.
The report noted that the impact of these natural disasters, fueled by climate changes, deepens inequalities already facing poorer nations.
"Climate change is harming, and will continue to harm, Black, Indigenous, and people of color and other vulnerable communities first and worst -- disrupting their livelihoods, culture, health and way of life," Russell Armstrong, Oxfam America's senior climate policy adviser, told CNN.
The release of the report comes as ministers gathered in Bonn, Germany, for climate talks, discussing the issue of "loss and damage" or payment of funds from wealthy countries to those that face the most severe impacts of climate change.
Countries such as Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Kenya, Niger, Somalia, South Sudan and Zimbabwe report the most recurring appeals related to extreme weather, while the United States and other wealthy nations are increasingly responsible for harmful emissions.
"The U.S. has an obligation to the global community to prioritize the fight against climate change and help foot the bill on the costs of destruction from extreme weather," Armstrong said.
Danny Sriskandarajah, Oxfam Great Britain's chief executive, told The Guardian that the finance gap is "unacceptable" and said that nations like Britain "need to take full responsibility for the harm their emissions are causing" and provide new funding.
"Rich countries are not only failing to provide sufficient humanitarian aid when weather-related disasters hit," Sriskandarajah said. "They are also failing to keep their promise to provide $100 billion a year to help developing countries adapt to the changing climate and blocking calls for finance to help them recover from impacts such as land that's become unfarmable and infrastructure that's been damaged."
