Show of hands:
Will you vote on June 9 for policies that curb the climate crisis and promote a just transition?
Voting in the EU elections is your biggest opportunity to have a positive impact on the climate. Will you vote?
Ensure that the rich who emit disproportionately contribute more to the transition, while low-income earners are supported to transition through a wealth tax, support the Global South, stop subsidizing fossil fuels, introduce a consumption-based emissions target, and ensure that EU countries have action plans that meet climate targets.
On June 9, we will hold European elections to elect a new European Parliament. But today, several parties in all member states are campaigning to slow down the EU's climate action. Your vote is more important than ever!
In brief
The EU has a major responsibility for the climate crisis, and therefore needs to rapidly reduce its emissions and support countries with widespread poverty and particular vulnerability to climate change.
Right now, we are heading towards a temperature increase of 2.7 degrees by 2100. This means a downright dystopian future for today's children and their children. Around 100,000 people in Europe will die every year from heat, marine ecosystems will face collapse and ecosystems like the Arctic or the Amazon will suffer abrupt and irreversible changes.
Voting in the European elections is your, as a Swede, biggest opportunity to have a positive impact on the climate. So what future do you want to live in? Vote for policies that slow down the climate crisis and promote a just climate transition!
Mareya is a farmer in Kenya. Of her 31 cattle, she has only 7 left, the rest have died due to the drought. Photo: Khadija Farah/Oxfam
What does Oxfam want?
Oxfam Sweden calls on our future EU Parliament to:
-
Tax the richest! Address the twin crises of climate and inequality by introducing a European wealth tax. Then the very rich can take responsibility for their excessive emissions and this money can be used for welfare and to reach climate goals. Oxfam has calculated that a European wealth tax on European billionaires and multimillionaires would generate €286.5 billion a year - the equivalent of 40% of the EU's recovery fund.
-
Introduce a consumption-based target at EU level of net zero by 2050. The emissions currently used as metrics for meeting climate targets are territorial emissions only, but consumption-based emissions are 15% higher than territorial ones.
-
Provide more support for climate adaptation in the Global South! The global fund to compensate countries for the damage and losses caused by the climate crisis is insufficient. The EU has so far contributed USD 27 million, not nearly enough in proportion to its historical responsibility for emissions.
-
Stop subsidizing fossil fuels! Rich countries are historically most responsible for emissions and must stop producing oil and gas. New financial resources generated from taxes on companies, rich emitters and billionaires can instead be used to finance renewable energy sources.
-
Make new laws! We need legislation that puts pressure on member states to implement ambitious climate action plans faster. We also need to ensure support for those who have the hardest time in the transition. The action plans must be based on the fact that those who emit the most must also reduce their emissions the most and the fastest.
Everyone who will vote for policies to curb the climate crisis in the EU elections, raise your hand NOW!
Climate change
Meet people who are already affected
Silveria
In Guatemala, nearly half of all children under the age of five are chronically malnourished. Due to climate change and a lack of social safety net, the number of malnourished children is constantly increasing.
Martha
In South Sudan, 2.2 million people are at risk of starvation and in Somalia people are dying in the worst hunger crisis in living memory. The people of South Sudan and Somalia are enduring almost unimaginable suffering.
Tawab
Cyclone Kenneth affected hundreds of thousands of people who were already living in poverty. Mozambique is the sixth poorest country in the world and has very low carbon emissions, 55 times lower than the US. Cyclone Kenneth is a warning signal of how climate change can have deadly consequences for the people least responsible for it.
Maryan
East Africa is currently experiencing the world's largest humanitarian crisis. Extreme drought over several years has destroyed crops and killed livestock - and more than 30 million people are fighting for their lives. The climate crisis continues to affect those who have caused the least, and this is no exception.
