Earth Equity News

Oxfam Calls For Clarity on Funds Promised to Poor Countries. IRIN News, June 16, 2008. "Oxfam has called for clarity on funds promised by rich countries to help the world's poor cope with the global food crisis and... climate change. In a report [PDF, 38 pp] released ahead of the G8 finance ministers' meeting, which began on Friday, Oxfam said G8 leaders must ensure that all [these funds] -- including the $6 billion pledged at the Rome food crisis summit last week -- comes on top of existing aid commitments... Lots of money has also been pledged... including a proposed set of funds called the Climate Investments Funds (CIF). But, the money is either being taken from existing aid budgets or being turned into loans... 'It is very unclear whether the $6 billion announced at the food summit is new'... [said] Frederic Mousseau [of] Oxfam GB. 'Besides, the money is still short of the $14.5 billion that we have calculated is needed to respond to the immediate needs of people'... Japan, the chair of the G8, has announced that it will promote the CIFs... The CIFs, to be managed by the World Bank, comprise two funds -- one to help provide clean technology and the other to build adaptive capacity in the poor countries... The World Bank... pointed out that the [CIF] money will be in the form of highly concessional loans. 'But the point is that it is still a loan,' said [Antonio Hill of Oxfam International]. The Oxfam report has also cautioned that... 'the housing of new funds at the World Bank could undermine ongoing climate change negotiations.'"