Benjamín Peña, 64, replanting forest in Bolivia. Photo: Samuel Nacar / Oxfam Intermón
Climate justice in Latin America and the Caribbean
New Oxfam report: Climate damage and Sweden's responsibility to compensate
Emissions from the world's richest cause climate damage in Latin America and the Caribbean
Latin America and the Caribbean are home to around 40% of the world's biodiversitya large number of indigenous peoples and a majority of the world's small island nations. A quarter of the population lives along the coast. One in five people live in poverty. These countries contribute incredibly little to global emissions, only 5 percentdespite being home to 8% of the world's population.
The world's richest 10%, however, account for half of the world's consumption-based emissions, with around 70% of Sweden's population belonging to the world's richest 10%. In contrast, only 8-9% of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean belong to the same group. The people and countries of the region are already experiencing enormous climate damage as a result of a crisis they did not create.
Emissions from the richest have consequences, and the price is paid by people living in poverty and vulnerability. As hurricanes, earthquakes and droughts increase in frequency and severity, the capacity of countries and people to recover is reduced and people's lives, livelihoods and ways of life are affected.
"With warming, fish are moving further out to sea. They can no longer stand the heat here and have moved to deeper waters where fishing boats may no longer be able to reach them."
Antonia, Honduras
Climate damage in Latin America and the Caribbean
Historical emissions from the world's richest people are causing enormous climate damage in Latin America and the Caribbean. In a new report, Oxfam Sweden presents quantifiable climate damage in the region as a result of emissions from the world's richest.
Economic losses
The consumption-based emissions of the the world's richest 10% between 1990 and 2019 have caused economic losses in Latin America and the Caribbean equivalent to SEK 45 000 billion.
Hunger
The consumption-based emissions of the world's richest 10% between 1990 and 2019 have caused crop losses in Latin America and the Caribbean equivalent to feeding 8.1 million people per year.
Deaths
The consumption-based emissions of the world's richest 1% between 2015 and 2019 will cause 37 400 heat-related deaths between 2020 and 2120 in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Reports
Fair finance for loss and damage: The case of Latin America and the Caribbean, and Sweden's responsibility
2025-04-03
Climate damage that cannot be calculated
The climate crisis has a human cost beyond the measurable damage and losses; people's lives are devastated and communities are left forever changed. Droughts, storms and floods cause significant material damage but also affect social cohesion, can contribute to a loss of cultural identity and erode trust in societal institutions. People feel vulnerable, abandoned and hopelessness can affect mental health.
Julio walks through one of the fields of his sugarcane plantation in Bolivia . Photo: Samuel Nacar / Oxfam Intermón
Current climate finance is insufficient
Current climate finance, which is designed to adapt communities and mitigate climate change, is insufficient and forces low-income countries to take on billions of dollars of debt to protect themselves and rebuild after climate-related crises. What funding is available often comes in the form of loans, which in turn risks increasing the debt burden. This is money that could instead be used to lift people out of poverty or invested in welfare.
Dilma is 62 and lives in Bellaflor with her husband, in Bolivia. Photo: Samuel Nacar / Oxfam Intermón
Sweden must compensate for the climate damage we cause
Losses and damages, or climate damages, continue to cause suffering to people who did the least to contribute to the crisis. So far, Sweden has pledged a contribution of SEK 200 million to the International Loss and Damage Fund, which will compensate countries that suffer climate damage as a result of the climate crisis. A contribution that corresponds to less than half a percent of Sweden's annual fair share of compensation for climate damage, according to calculations by Oxfam Sweden.
New analysis from the Stockholm Environment Institute shows that there are several innovative financing instruments that governments from high-income countries can implement to generate new and additional finance, based on the polluter pays principle; those who emit the most should pay for the costs incurred. Based on this, Oxfam Sweden has been able to calculate that Sweden could release resources equivalent to around 5 to 6 times Sweden's fair, low estimate, annual share.
Oxfam Sweden recommends the Swedish government to, inter alia:
→ Introduce a new wealth tax on Swedish multimillionaires and billionaires
→ Introduce a temporary tax on extraordinary profits of companies
→ Introduce a progressive air tax, with frequent flyers paying more
Looking for the method? It is described in the Carbon Inequality Kills report which you can easily find via:
Questions and Answers
Losses are irreversible damages, e.g. complete inundation of small island nations due to rising sea levels, extinction of a species, or permanent loss of cultural heritage sites due to erosion caused by extreme weather events. Damage can be temporary or partially recoverable and requires repair, restoration or compensation. Examples include destruction of infrastructure due to hurricanes, economic losses due to crop failure due to drought, or costs of relocating coastal communities due to erosion and rising sea levels. Losses and damages can be economic as well as non-economic, such as loss of cultural heritage, traditions and identity. Can also be referred to as climate damage.
It covers emissions from goods and services used in Sweden regardless of where the emissions occur. On average, Swedes cause twice as many emissions abroad as within Sweden's borders. Therefore, it is crucial to analyze and act to reduce Swedes' consumption-based emissions. These emissions are calculated by adding up all emissions emitted in Sweden, plus all emissions caused by imports into Sweden, minus emissions from Swedish exports. This way, the emissions linked to Sweden's consumption are calculated, including emissions caused abroad.
We asked a number of researchers from Concordia University, Universitat de Barcelona, Dartmouth College and Columbia University to calculate the various climate damages. Their research is based on the latest research in their respective fields. By combining physical climate models and empirical models that calculate the effect of emissions, they have assessed the rate of warming that can be linked to emissions and then estimated the damage and losses that this warming causes. Dhese are conservative estimates as they only take into account the damage and losses due to the warming itself.nemissions, only take into account emissions over a limited period of time and do not take into account the effects of, for example, extreme weather. The analysis is based on the world's richests consumption-based emissions relative to income as calculated by the Stockholm Environment Institute and Oxfam.
Sweden is a small country, but Swedes have disproportionately high emissions. Right now, emissions are increasing by 5.6% when they really need to decrease by 7%. If everyone lived like the richest 1% of Swedes, the carbon budget left to keep humanity from exceeding 1.5 degrees of warming would run out in six months - with disastrous consequences. Many high-emitting countries are small countries. Being a small country does not mean that you do not have to take responsibility.
No, that's not enough, the Loss and Damage Fund is only one part of what is called climate finance. Under that umbrella, there is funding for climate adaptation, emission reduction measures and now the Loss and Damage Fund. Just paying the bill for damages and losses is not enough. We highlight this specifically because the countries that have the greatest capacity and responsibility to pay for climate damage should do so.
The calculation is based on 3 factors: countries' ability to pay, countries' responsibility for emissions and countries' development needsdevelopment needs. You can read more about the methodology in the report Sweden ansvarsvar i klimate crisis.
In 76 countries, Oxfam works on both prevention and emergency work. By prevention we mean supporting communities to adapt to climate change but and by producing research to influence politicians to work for a more just and equitable climate transition. Our emergency work means that in the event of climate-related crises and disasters, we are quickly on the ground and work with local partners to support people affected. Read more about our work.
