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EU Finance Ministers today adopted a report on Europe’s progress towards its share of the $30 billion promised by rich countries at the 2009 Copenhagen climate summit to help poor countries

The joint US-China statement on new domestic policy commitments and a vision for a global climate change deal underscores the importance the world’s two largest emitters place on solving the climate crisis, says Oxfam, but collective action is needed.

Responding to the final communiqué of the COP25 climate talks in Madrid, Chema Vera, Interim Executive Director of Oxfam International, said: “The world is screaming out for climate action but this summit has responded with a whisper. The poorest nations are in a sprint for survival yet many governments have barely moved from the starting blocks."

On Wednesday, the European Commission will put forward a communication outlining its stance on the global climate change talks aimed at reaching a deal by world leaders by the end of the year.

Oxfam welcomed reports of increased climate finance pledges made by finance ministers in Lima today, but warned that only a fraction is meant to help countries most vulnerable adapt to the devastating effects of climate change.

Global climate finance levels are woefully insufficient to keep warming below 1.5°C or protect people from the devastating impacts of climate breakdown —and this gap is particularly evident in countries mired in conflict or that are unable to provide basic services for their communities. 

The 150 countries that have now publicly committed to carbon reduction pledges show that December’s UN climate summit in Paris could, at last, be built on international cooperation rather than competition. 

 Oxfam analysis of how climate change funds are allocated and accounted for shows very concerning trends for the world’s poorest countries and communities.

“While this report provides helpful information on various actions to advance the climate finance agenda, it fails to boost confidence that developed countries will make significant and swift progress on meeting their commitment to provide $100 billion annually, over 2020-2025 to assist poor countries. The report would have been an ideal moment for developed countries to spell out how they will compensate for missing the $100 billion mark earlier through additional climate finance in subsequent years. Also, it lacks a robust roadmap as to how they’re going to double adaptation finance by 2025, something they agreed to at COP 26.”

The true value of money provided by developed countries to help developing nations respond to the climate crisis may be just a third of the amount reported, according to Oxfam estimates published today.