It's time for the UN climate summit to end climate inequality!

We read about it in the newspapers, we see it on the news - about how the climate crisis is affecting us all. But the issue of climate is not one we can just flip past or turn off the TV in the hope that someone else will solve the problem. The climate crisis takes different forms depending on where we are geographically on the world map, but it affects us all.

The climate crisis is causing extreme weather in the form of severe storms and cyclones, droughts, heat waves and floods, resulting in unpredictable and failed harvests, threatened food supplies, increased food prices and, as a result, increased hunger in many parts of the world. In Sweden, we have also been hit by forest fires in recent years, with farmers reporting that they can no longer make a living from farming because severe climate change is destroying their crops, and this summer, floods hit many parts of the country.

No one is immune to climate change, but people living in poverty are the hardest hit. This is despite the fact that the poorest half of the world's population - 3.5 billion people - account for only 10% of global carbon emissions. This is what we at Oxfam call climate inequality.

At Oxfam, we are pressing governments and policy makers to take greater responsibility for the climate crisis: the brunt of the responsibility lies with them and they must do more to reduce emissions and climate inequality. Oxfam also works to influence the climate issue at the international level, including ensuring that more resources are provided for climate finance to the least developed countries.

Sweden and other rich countries with historically high emissions must take responsibility to reduce emissions and mitigate suffering from climate change and enable adaptation. The climate crisis risks further deepening poverty and increasing hunger and starvation. Sweden's decision-makers must act immediately and comprehensively.

In connection with the climate summit currently taking place in Glasgow from 1-12 November 2021, Oxfam's Secretary General Suzanne Standfast has signed a letter together with 36 other organizations. The letter is addressed to three Nordic aid ministers. The letter raises hopes for Nordic leadership on the issue of climate finance for low- and middle-income countries and suggests how these ambitions can be realized.

On November 9, 2021, Oxfam will release a new climate inequality report. You can read previous climate inequality reports here: Confronting Carbon Inequality, Climate Finance Shadow Report 2020, Removing Carbon Now, Forced From Home, Who Takes The Heat?.