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This report provides a primer on the performance of electricity utilities in sub-Saharan Africa, reflecting on the current landscape of power sector and utility challenges, the reforms undertaken to address performance failures, opportunities for a “utility of the future” amid the global energy transition, governance frameworks available to assess performance (like the infrastructure regulatory system and World Bank’s Utility Performance and Behavior Today [UPBEAT] platform), and the prospects for changing the political economy of state-owned utilities to significantly improve transparency, accountability, and performance. It provides foundational knowledge on how to use financial statements and economic tools so that nonexperts can assess the financial health of a utility for the purposes of demanding greater accountability. It also provides insights on why energy sector power purchase agreements (PPAs) should be made more transparent for greater public accountability., Further, the primer lays out the need for an enhanced role of civil society in advocating for improved transparency and greater civil participation in the governance of state-owned utilities and how regulation can be of further help. The key takeaway is that state-owned enterprises should be subject to commercial governance arrangements, including mandatory and stringent contracts and exposure to some private capital as well as stakeholder annual general meetings, open to the public, similar to those that occur in the private sector., This report complements three other reports published for Ghana, Kenya, and South Africa. Each of those reports focuses on understanding the specific governance conditions surrounding their respective national electricity utilities. All these reports together are intended to build the programmatic and campaigning capacity among civil society actors to enable them to engage in improving the governance of electricity utilities. As such, the intended audience for this report is, first, members of civil society, and then policymakers and energy sector practitioners who are concerned about the operations of their national electricity utilities and who are contemplating advocacy and programming to improve their performance.

This report is focused on identifying the ongoing challenges at Eskom, the South African power utility, thus shedding light on democratic processes and human rights considerations. It adopts a feminist lens in its analysis of the electricity crisis, exploring potential feminist approaches to restructuring the existing electricity grid infrastructure. This includes analyzing the integration of the key principles of a Just Transition, as well as an assessment of the role that key stakeholders can play in fostering improvements through a renewed social compacting process that encompasses pro-development, equitable and inclusive plans for plant decommissioning, the protection of worker’s rights, and strategies for up-skilling and reskilling. Additionally, the report delves into Eskom's skill development needs, addressing prevalent talent, cultural, and skill-related issues in a more substantive manner. It also includes a comprehensive analysis of electricity demand and supply forecasting and identifying key factors for achieving a sustainable vision for Eskom. It assesses Eskom’s financial situation, its assets, and operational functionality., The report highlights financial and operational inefficiencies at the utility which have caused an ongoing energy crisis in South Africa's energy sector in recent years. This has resulted in rolling blackouts and power cuts, which have had a negative impact on economic growth. Contributing factors to this crisis at the utility include the lack of ethical leadership and escalating levels of corruption, combined with limited maintenance capabilities and decreased reliability of the power supply. Furthermore, policy uncertainty on realizing a feminist, just and socially inclusive energy transition continues to hamstring decisive action on the part of decision makers because of evident competing interests between the Mineral Resources and Energy and Environment Ministries. Finally the report notes the sectors lack of gender-responsive planning and budgeting frameworks and the negative impacts of coal extraction on local livelihoods., The report includes proposals for a variety of different roles civil society can play in advancing progress on these challenges.

This report provides a comprehensive account of the status of the electricity utility in Kenya. In doing so it analyzes the gaps in Kenya’s electricity governance and suggests ways these gaps can be addressed especially through civil society engagement., While Kenya has seen some notable successes in advancing its energy sector - in particular in terms of increasing access to electricity - and has seen numerous efforts at reform intended to improve the functioning of the utility. Nonetheless the utility faces significant challenges that undermine the sector's performance overall. Challenges include: weaknesses in power distribution segments, the politicization of the utility company management, system and large commercial power losses. The resulting financial precarity has meant an inability to provide equitable, affordable and efficient electricity utility services. These challenges are compounded by costly power purchase agreements. Altogether these problems have threatened the financial stability of the power utility company and resulted in huge costs and debts., Civil society has a crucial role to play in providing solutions to these challenges through advocacy, expert advisory and by offering solutions in emerging issues such as the energy transition. There are further opportunities for civil society to actively implement sustainable energy initiatives, develop of informational materials, establishment of networks to support good governance (for instance, linking development partners with local governments), and also developing monitoring tools.

This report, published by Oxfam partner, the Africa Center for Energy Policy (ACEP) examines the Ghana's power sector value chain and its implications for reliable, affordable and clean energy supply. The work outlines the role of the Ghanian government in the electricity sector, and outlines three salient challenges facing the energy sector: 1) The role for gas in Ghana's power sector and the relevance of criticisms regarding oversupply, 2) challenges regarding power transmission and distribution, and 3) the country's readiness for integrating renewables., The report finds that Ghana's power sector is not overly burdened by over-supply, identifies that revenue shortfalls and governance issues lie at the heart of problems in the transmission and distribution sector, and fingers the lack of an enabling environment as a primary blocker to increasing renewable energy penetration.

The world's climate is changing at an unprecedented rate, largely as a consequence of human activity. This paper summarises the predicted impacts of these changes that are of greatest relevance to Oxfam. It focuses on the medium to long-term (25-50 years) dynamics in five key areas: water, food security, health, extreme events and political stability. It explains how the geopolitics of the historic responsibilities and future impacts of climate change are distinctly unequal - those countries with the greatest 'ecological debt' currently stand to suffer least from the consequences of their past activities. Without political action to mitigate and adapt, climate change threatens to widen global inequalities and undermine recent gains in social and economic development.

As the group of the world’s largest economies and biggest emitters, G20 countries are central to implementing solutions to the climate emergency. This discussion paper assesses to what extent they are setting climate mitigation targets that are ambitious enough and/or meet their fair share of global emissions reductions consistent with limiting global heating to 1.5°C. It applies three different methodologies to assess their pledges. Despite some differences between these methodologies, the paper finds that the G20 countries – both collectively, and almost all of them individually – are failing to achieve their fair share of ambitious global mitigation required to limit global heating to 1.5°C, regardless of which assessment methodology is applied. Additionally, the assessment shows that the high-income G20 member countries are pledging to do a much smaller fraction of their fair share as compared to the middle-income countries., The G7 countries among the G20, in particular, appear to now be focusing their attention on the increase of ambition of middle-income and low-income countries while not recognising the need to also substantially increase the ambition in their own 2030 pledges. Additionally, the G7 countries continue to fail to recognise the need to commit to individual long-term climate finance to low and middle-income countries, at a scale much higher than what they currently provide, to enable rapid and just transitions to climate-resilient and low-carbon societies powered by renewable energy. This analysis highlights that G20 countries must both urgently, and before COP28 in December 2023, raise the ambition of their pledges for action by 2030, ramp up their provision of international climate finance and increase their international cooperation and support.

The issue of civil society participation in the processes of developing, implementing, and monitoring national climate plans is crucial to ensuring that these ambitions are both acceptable to the populations and, beyond that, that they align with a trajectory of sustainable development beneficial to all actors in Senegalese society. This case study aims to analyze the degree of involvement through consultations with a variety of civil society actors, as well as members of the administration and international partners active in the fight against climate change. While some believe that civil society participation has progressed significantly in recent years, the vast majority feel that the level reached is still insufficient., Barriers to civil society’s appropriation of climate issues include, among others, the lack of representativeness of grassroots organizations and vulnerable groups, as well as the unfamiliarity of civil society organizations (CSOs) and community-based organizations (CBOs) with the processes, objectives, and stakeholders of the National Climate Plan (NCP), meaning that many civil society actors are rarely aware of their contribution to its implementation even though they are involved. The study also shows how limited human and financial resources reduce the possibility of broad participation by civil society organizations, especially outside the capital. This raises the question of a fair, adequate, and targeted allocation of climate financing to meet the ambitions of climate policies in Senegal. This report presents recommendations to overcome barriers that may explain low ownership of national climate plans by communities, in order to propose ways for populations to be key actors in an ambitious ecological transition in Senegal., La question de la participation de la société civile aux processus d’élaboration, de mise en oeuvre et de suivi des plans nationaux sur le climat est clé afin de s’assurer que ces ambitions soient à la fois acceptables pour les populations et, au-delà, qu’elles s’inscrivent dans une trajectoire de développement durable bénéfique à l’ensemble des acteurs de la société sénégalaise., Cette étude de cas vise à analyser ce degré d’implication, à travers des consultations menées auprès d’une variété d’acteurs de la société civile, ainsi que des membres de l’administration et des partenaires internationaux actifs dans la lutte contre les changements climatiques. Alors que certains estiment que la participation de la société civile a beaucoup progressé dans les dernières années, la large majorité juge que le niveau atteint est encore insuffisant., Les barrières à l’appropriation des enjeux climatiques par la société civile incluent, entre autres, le manque de représentativité des organisations communautaires de base et des groupes vulnérables, mais également la méconnaissance des processus, objectifs et interlocuteurs de la CDN de la part des OSC et des OCB, impliquant que de nombreux acteurs de la société civile sont rarement conscients de contribuer à sa mise en oeuvre même si cela est le cas., L’étude montre également comment des ressources humaines et financières limitées réduisent la possibilité d’une large participation des organisations de la société civile, en particulier en dehors de la capitale. Cela soulève la question d’une allocation juste, adéquate et ciblée des financements climatiques pour répondre aux ambitions des politiques climatiques au Sénégal. Ce rapport présente des recommandations afin de surmonter les barrières qui expliqueraient une faible appropriation des plans nationaux sur le climat par les communautés, afin de proposer des voies pour que les populations soient des acteurs au coeur d’une transition écologique ambitieuse au Sénégal.

The cognitive dimension of climate change is a subject that is rarely analysed. However, communities’ endogenous adaptation strategies are heavily dependent on their perception of the risks linked to climate change. An analysis of individuals’ representations and perceptions of climate change makes it possible to improve the ability to adapt of territories confronted by it., In this analysis, the relations of interdependence between perception, knowledge and adaptation strategies show how communities living in the coastal area of Senegal interpret climate change, in particular in the fields of agriculture, water resources and coastal areas., Considering these representations favours the co-construction and acceptability of the adaptation strategies., It enables state and non state actors to better understand the communities’ needs as regards public climate policies, whereas the media can identify levers they can use to devise effective public information campaigns on the climate, in order to reduce the vulnerability of communities that face climate hazards., La dimension cognitive du changement climatique reste peu investie. Or, les stratégies d’adaptation endogènes des communautés dépendent fortement de leur perception des risques liés au changement climatique. Une analyse des représentations et des perceptions des individus sur le changement climatique permet de renforcer la capacité d’adaptation des territoires face à ce phénomène., Dans cette analyse, les relations d’interdépendance entre la perception, le savoir et les stratégies d’adaptation montrent comment les communautés vivant sur la zone côtière du Sénégal interprètent le changement climatique, notamment dans les domaines de l’agriculture, des ressources en eau, et des zones côtières., La prise en compte de ces représentations va dans le sens d’une co-construction et de l’acceptabilité des stratégies d’adaptation., Elle permet aux acteurs étatiques et non étatiques de mieux comprendre les besoins des communautés en matière de politiques publiques climatiques, tandis que les médias peuvent identifier les leviers sur lesquels agir pour développer des campagnes d’information publique sur le climat efficaces afin de réduire la vulnérabilité des communautés en cas d’aléas climatiques.

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This study was undertaken to support and empower Southern African leaders, activists, civil society organizations (CSOs) and policymakers, in the lead up to COP 27 and beyond, in the debate on the losses and damages caused by climate impacts. The study used an ‘action research’ approach by supporting the collective and inclusive documentation and sense-making of the lived experiences of loss and damage, and the co-production of a loss and damage narrative, through case studies and participatory workshops with Southern African survivors, communities, activists, civil society and decision-makers.

The world faces twin crises of climate breakdown and runaway inequality. The richest people, corporations and countries are destroying the world with their huge carbon emissions. Meanwhile, people living in poverty, those experiencing marginalization, and countries in the Global South are those impacted the hardest. Women and girls, Indigenous Peoples, people living in poverty and other groups experiencing discrimination are particularly at a disadvantage. The consequences of climate breakdown are felt in all parts of the world and by most people, yet only the richest people and countries have the wealth, power and influence to protect themselves. With that power comes huge responsibility., If no action is taken, the richest will continue to burn through the carbon we have left to use while keeping the global temperature below the safe limit of 1.5°C, destroying any chance of ending poverty and ensuring equality. The world needs an equal transformation. Only a radical reduction in inequality, transformative climate action and fundamentally shifting our economic goals as a society can save our planet while ensuring wellbeing for all., Find all the underlying data on SEI's emissions inequality dashboard: Emissions Inequality, To find out more information, please visit the dedicated website: Climate Equality: A planet for the 99%

Carbon pricing is not a new phenomenon. Backed by widespread consensus in the economic literature that it is the single most effective policy for addressing climate change, it has been the staple policy priority of many environmental non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Yet carbon pricing has seen limited uptake. Efforts to price carbon have failed in a multitude of contexts. Where they have passed, in most cases, prices have been set too low or covered too little of the economy to effectively address the challenge posed by climate change. As a result, climate advocates have come to question carbon pricing as a primary policy approach. In this context, this paper is not intended to provide novel insights into carbon pricing, nor is it intended to motivate for or against an immediate campaign priority at Oxfam. Rather, this review of carbon pricing is intended to provide a technical background on the topic, considering the concerns that are of greatest salience to Oxfam. The specific aims of the paper are to support Oxfam staff in their deliberation on whether, when, and how to engage on carbon pricing initiatives, as questions around this policy approach shift over the next 20 years. It is anticipated that such reflection would also be useful to a number of organizations whose concerns are similar to Oxfam’s.

Carbon removals are an important part of the solution of the climate crisis, hundreds of gigatons of CO2 will likely need to be removed from the atmosphere this century with the help of a wide range of negative emission technologies. This paper sets out to answer which negative emissions techniques are available on the market today and how they potentially could be used by companies or individuals who wish to help solve the climate crisis by removing carbon in an effective way without creating risks for people or the environment.

Climate change affects food production in many regions, including lost crops and dwindling employment opportunities. These impacts will become more severe by 2030 and beyond, putting at risk global food security and the livelihoods of hundreds of millions of people. Now is the time to scale up efforts to reshape the agriculture sector to support farmers, avoid the extensification of food production, improve the productivity of farms, build resilience and reduce emissions., This paper aims to help countries think through the process of enhancing their nationally determined contributions (NDCs) by including strengthened actions in the agriculture sector. It highlights the need for tailor-made approaches suited to a country’s unique set of circumstances. It identifies a range of possible actions for climate change adaptation and mitigation in the agriculture sector, given the right enabling environment, and offers examples of how these actions can be included in an enhanced NDC., Les changements climatiques ont des incidences sur la production alimentaire dans de nombreuses régions, notamment la perte de récoltes et la raréfaction des offres d’emploi. Ces impacts s’accentueront d’ici 2030 et au-delà, menaçant ainsi la sécurité alimentaire mondiale et les moyens de subsistance de centaines de millions de personnes. Il est temps de redoubler d’efforts pour repenser le secteur de l’agriculture, afin de soutenir les agriculteurs et agricultrices, d’éviter l’extensification de la production alimentaire, d’améliorer la productivité des exploitations agricoles, de renforcer la résilience et de réduire les émissions., Cette publication vise à aider les pays à envisager le processus d’amélioration de leur CDN au travers de l’introduction de mesures renforcées pour le secteur agricole. Ses auteurs insistent sur la nécessité d’adopter des approches adaptées aux circonstances uniques de chaque pays. Ils présentent une série de mesures possibles, pour autant que les bonnes conditions soient en place, s’agissant de l’adaptation aux changements climatiques et de l’atténuation de leurs effets dans le secteur agricole, et proposent des exemples de la manière d’intégrer ces mesures dans une CDN améliorée.

More frequent or intense floods, heatwaves, wildfires, droughts and typhoons devastate people’s homes, livelihoods and the natural world. A clean energy transition is urgently needed to reduce carbon emissions and prevent the impacts worsening. Wealthy countries have the prime historic responsibility for the climate crisis and therefore for its mitigation. But as the clean energy transition gathers speed, it inevitably also impacts lower-income, lower-emitting countries and communities. This research report, written by 20 co-authors from Africa, Asia, Latin America, the Middle East, the US and Europe, investigates the implications of the energy transition for them, and asks how the world can achieve a truly just, as well as fast, transition., The findings highlight the stark choice facing humanity. If the transition is undertaken with justice and respect for communities’ rights at its heart, it offers an unprecedented opportunity to simultaneously mitigate the climate crisis and reduce poverty and inequality. Conversely, an unjust transition, which entrenches or exacerbates inequalities, risks generating public resistance and slowing the transition with devastating human consequences., Inondations, vagues de chaleur, incendies de forêt, sécheresse et typhons… Ces phénomènes de plus en plus fréquents ou intenses ont des effets dévastateurs sur les habitations, les moyens de subsistance et le milieu naturel. La transition vers une énergie propre est plus que jamais nécessaire pour réduire les émissions de CO2 et éviter des conséquences encore plus lourdes. Premiers responsables historiques de la crise climatique, les pays riches ont aussi la responsabilité d’en atténuer les effets. Mais à mesure que la transition vers l’énergie propre s’accélère, elle n’est pas sans répercussions sur les pays et les communautés à faible revenu, qui produisent moins d’émissions. Le présent rapport de recherche, fruit du travail conjoint de 20 auteur·es d’Afrique, d’Asie, d’Amérique latine, du Moyen-Orient, des États-Unis et d’Europe, se penche sur les conséquences de la transition énergétique pour ces pays et communautés, en s’interrogeant sur la manière dont le monde pourrait mettre en œuvre, sans tarder, une transition véritablement juste., Ce rapport aboutit à la conclusion que l’humanité est aujourd’hui confrontée à un choix difficile. Si cette transition énergétique se déroule en prenant comme axe central l’équité et le respect des communautés, elle offre une opportunité sans précédent d’atténuer à la fois la crise climatique et la pauvreté et les inégalités. À l’inverse, une approche injuste, qui perpétue voire aggrave les inégalités, risque de provoquer des réticences parmi la population et de ralentir la transition, avec des conséquences humaines désastreuses.

Climate change, conflict, growing inequality and escalating humanitarian needs are galvanizing questions about the effectiveness and efficiency of current humanitarian and development programming., Accompanying this are structural shifts across the aid system, which are changing how aid is planned and financed. Under the 'Triple Nexus' this will have profound implications for what we do, how we do it and with whom we do it., As a multi-mandated organization, Oxfam has a unique contribution to make in sharing learning and encouraging good practice in this space. This discussion paper puts forward some of this thinking from across our programme, policy and funding expertise and draws on case studies to highlight critical questions and recommendations for furthering the debate., Le changement climatique, les conflits, les inégalités croissantes et l’intensification des besoins humanitaires soulèvent des questionnements sur l’efficacité et l’efficience des programmes humanitaires et de développement actuels., En outre, l’ensemble du système d’aide fait face à des transformations structurelles qui influencent la planification et le financement de l’aide. Au regard du triple nexus humanitaire-développement-paix, cela aura nécessairement un impact profond sur nos actions, nos méthodes et nos collaborations., En tant qu’organisation multi-mandatée, Oxfam a un rôle unique à jouer en matière de partage des connaissances et de diffusion des bonnes pratiques dans cet espace. Ce document de discussion fait état de certaines de ces réflexions issues de nos programmes, de notre expertise en matière de politiques d'orientation et de financement et met en lumière, au moyen d’études de cas, des questions et recommandations essentielles pour approfondir le débat.

UK international development actors – from government to private sector and NGOs – can play a key role in fighting extreme economic inequality to beat poverty in developing countries. This paper shares key principles, policies and programmes that have emerged from Oxfam’s work with partners around the world in recent years, so as to encourage a sector-wide response to the inequality crisis. There will be no end to poverty unless we can close the gaps between rich and poor and between men and women, and adopt a development agenda based on feminist principles and a human economy.

Early and ambitious action to reduce short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs) is essential to achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. SLCPs include methane, hydrofluorocarbons, black carbon, and tropospheric ozone. Actions to reduce these highly potent pollutants help avoid crossing important thresholds, such as a 1.5°C temperature rise above pre-industrial levels, and potential climatic tipping points, which will affect poor and vulnerable communities first and worst., Despite the importance of reducing SLCPs, actions to mitigate these potent pollutants were often underrepresented in the first nationally determined contributions (NDCs) submitted by Parties to the Paris Agreement. This paper presents a set of options for how targets, policies, and actions on SLCPs can be incorporated in new or updated NDCs to support the achievement of global climate goals and national development objectives.

Since 2019 the Ethiopian Ministry of Agriculture has offered extension advice on conservation agriculture (CA). However, agricultural policy focuses mainly on intensive tillage whereas CA calls for zero or minimum tillage. Policy seems to favour productivity over sustainability, with CA adoption remaining low. Supply-side constraints include lack of access to high-quality inputs, credit, and machinery. Demand-side constraints include risk aversion and competition for crop residues needed for mulching from requirements for fuel and feed. Women farmers like CA because it does not require draft animals. However, some women in male-headed households report a shift of labour responsibilities to women.

In the 25 years from 1990 to 2015, annual global carbon emissions grew by 60%, approximately doubling total global cumulative emissions. This has brought the world perilously close to exceeding 2°C of warming, and it is now on the verge of exceeding 1.5°C. This paper examines the starkly different contributions of different income groups to carbon emissions in this period. It draws on new data that provides much improved insight into global and national income inequality, combined with national consumption emissions over this 25-year period, to provide an analysis relating emissions to income levels for the populations of 117 countries. Future scenarios of carbon inequality are also presented based on different possible trajectories of economic growth and carbon emissions, highlighting the challenge of ensuring a more equitable distribution of the remaining and rapidly diminishing global carbon budget.

The United Kingdom is preparing for its post-Brexit place in the world at a time when the principles of liberal democracy and the rules-based world order are being challenged. In a fast-changing world with new powers rising, old institutions struggling and future challenges emerging, a strong values-based foreign policy is essential., This calls for bold, collaborative action to advance the values of democracy, human rights, free and fair trade and the international rule of law, while also tackling the entrenched unequal power relations in the current international order, including the UK’s own privileged position., Edited by Oxfam and the Foreign Policy Centre, this collection brings together proposals for how the UK can put values at the heart of its foreign policy in the decades to come. Written by policy makers, academics and NGO leaders, the essays cover themes including aid, inequality, security, climate change, feminist foreign policy, trade, multilateral institutions and the well-being of future generations. The authors argue for a vision of ‘Global Britain’ that is defined by commitments to human rights, inclusive representation at home and abroad, and making a substantial impact on poverty and inequality.

Making sense of the rapid changes shaping our world is essential for determining effective strategies. Asking questions about the trends affecting us all can make efforts to reduce poverty and inequality better fit for the future, uncertain though the future is. But to which trends should we pay attention? Many think tanks, international organisations and consultancy companies analyse megatrends. To what extent do these analyses converge or differ? Are they leading to similar insights about the forces affecting us all?, This scan of recent scans offers a simple narrative of four clusters that are considered to drive change: Rapid Technological Development, Demography, Environmental Pressures, and Shifting Power. Many other local, national and regional trends interact with these megatrends. Inherent in trends analysis is uncertainty: no amount of discussion or data can give certainty about their extent, speed or consequences in different parts of the world, or for specific groups of people. However, analysing trends and possible scenarios allows for critical ‘what if’ thinking, grounded in realism about what is emerging.

The global care crisis is being exacerbated by the global climate emergency, with interlocking impacts that threaten lives and livelihoods in all parts of the world. These impacts are particularly severe among rural livelihoods in low-income countries. Climate change intensifies the work involved in caring for people, animals, plants, and places. It reduces the availability and quality of public services in marginalized communities and directly compounds the unfair distribution of unpaid care work that sustains gender inequality., Yet the intersections of climate change and care work have been overlooked in the development literature. Strategies for climate mitigation and adaptation have paid relatively little attention to how care work is affected by climate impacts, nor have they considered whether interventions improve or intensify the situation of carers. Instead, when designing “gender-sensitive” climate actions, the focus has been largely on women’s economic empowerment as opposed to alleviating or transforming existing distributions of care work., The aim of this report is to fill a knowledge gap by examining the points of interaction between climate change impacts and the amount, distribution, and conditions of unpaid care work. We focus on care workers rather than those who are cared for, while stressing the relational nature of care and acknowledging that carers too require care.

The role of the business woman in India is constantly evolving. More and more Indian women are achieving great things and are having their success stories told; a movement which is altering the way the labelled ‘weaker sex’ is perceived by the public. This study, which was carried out by Partners in Change (PiC) and commissioned by Oxfam, examines the roles played by working Indian women particularly as decision-makers at governance and management levels within the top 100 companies listed by the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). This paper has also played a significant role in developing Oxfam India’s ‘Women Empowerment Program’ (WEP) by analysing and assessing the gender disparity in business. It provides a wide range of statistical data, presented in tables and charts, as well as the human face of the topic through real-life accounts of female game-changers in the Indian workforce. The aim of WEP is to increase the number of women working in senior management roles above the shockingly low figure of 5%.

Situated in a complex region of the world, Puntland State in Somalia is dealing with a range of threats and instabilities such as droughts, floods, locusts, the movement of internally displaced people (IDPs), and armed actors. COVID-19 has added yet another strain on its tremendously fragile infrastructure. The impact of the pandemic has been far reaching, affecting livelihoods and hampering unpaid and underpaid care work and responsibilities. The multitude of crises and rates of inflation have left the majority of families food insecure and without income, halted education and health services, and exacerbated existing vulnerabilities and the incidence of violence., This gender analysis was conducted and funded by the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO), in partnership with Oxfam in Somalia and KAALO, to better help local government bodies, agencies, NGOs, and INGOs grasp the differentiated impact of the crises on women, men, boys, and girls, and host and IDP communities, during this time of intense loss and instability. The analysis provides an overview of the experiences of the affected communities, and gives recommendations on how to address immediate concerns and plan future programming.

The implications of climate change are affecting many regions in the world; India is particularly vulnerable to the damaging, adverse effects of greenhouse emissions. This working paper is a collaborative study produced by Oxfam India and the Centre for Budget and Governance Accountability (a policy research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi). It is a critical analysis of the Government of India’s spending (Union Budget) regarding climate change related disasters in India in the period between fiscal years 2006-07 and 2009-10. The report also provides an analysis of different climate change related reports. The livelihoods of most people in India depend on ‘climate-sensitive’ sectors (i.e. farming, fishing and forestry) so this paper identifies the planning and investment areas the Government should focus on in order to prevent further development setbacks on local, national and global scales. These areas include: crop improvement, drought proofing, forestry, water, coastal regions, health, risk financing, and disaster management.

Palm oil production can lead to greenhouse gas emissions, land grabs and exploitation. This paper points to four key principles for designing partnerships between communities and companies in palm oil that can benefit both: freedom of choice, accountability, improvement and respect for rights (FAIR). These principles for FAIR partnerships are intended to prompt a rethink of current development models. This paper calls on companies and financial institutions to invest in these types of partnerships.

This report seeks to identify the threats to equity posed by certain land-based climate change mitigation strategies and the potential impacts of these threats on food security and other human rights, in order to sound the alarm on current and potential future inequalities. At the same time, this report highlights opportunities to decrease greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations while enhancing multidimensional equity, and thus safeguarding food security and other human rights, by keeping equity at the core of land-based climate change mitigation actions. Making informed and comprehensive policy and programming decisions requires assessing both the biophysical and social impacts of climate change mitigation strategies. The results of this report highlight both opportunities and potential trade-offs, showing how Oxfam, its partners, and the broader community of climate change and development actors can proactively achieve reductions in GHG concentrations while ensuring food security and other human rights.

What are the lessons of the Millennium Development Goals process to date? What has been their impact on aid and national government decision making? This paper seeks to inform the post-2015 debate by examining these questions. It argues that leverage over national governments and civil society involvement will increasingly eclipse leverage on aid as the determining factor of post-2015 success and discusses how alternative international instruments can achieve such traction. The paper has been revised after online discussion of a draft version. This is a discussion paper, intended to provoke reflection and debate, and does not represent Oxfam policy positions. The authors welcome further comments - email research@oxfam.org.uk

Women and men working in smallholder olive and grape sectors in Gaza face many difficulties in eking out a living, many as a result of a long blockade that restricts free movement of people and goods and access to land needed for agriculture, severely hampering any economic prospects. Climate change exacerbates the crisis, with rising temperatures and sea levels causing further shocks, stresses and uncertainty. This research assesses smallholder farmers’ capacity to absorb, adapt and transform their livelihoods in the face of these challenges – with a particular focus on women, who bear the brunt of climate change and inequality – and suggests a range of actions that should be taken to address the crisis.

The world faces twin challenges: delivering a decent standard of living for everyone, while living within our environmental limits. These two interwoven concerns are captured in Oxfam’s Doughnut model that offers a framework to create a safe and just space for humanity to exist., At the national level, the Welsh Doughnut model suggests areas of life that might constitute a social floor below which no one in Wales should fall and begins the process of identifying which environmental boundaries might be useful for incorporation into a Welsh national analysis., This report refreshes the Welsh Doughnut for 2020. It updates and amends the 2015 Welsh Doughnut report by Malcolm Sayers of Cambium Advocacy. It provides a snapshot of Wales’ status by assessing its current position against the suggested set of domains and indicators five years on from the original report.

Strengthening urban resilience is key to achieving Oxfam's vision of a world without poverty. Urbanization has become a major challenge for almost all countries around the globe. Cities and city inhabitants are facing additional and amplified challenges as a result of rapid urbanization, a changing climate and rising inequality in urban areas. The COVID-19 crisis has further highlighted the importance of strengthening inclusive urban resilience to acute shocks and chronic stresses., Oxfam's Resilience Knowledge Hub conducted the Urban Resilience Learning Exchange (URLE) project with pilot programmes in Jordan, Pakistan, Nepal, South Africa, Kenya and Bangladesh to develop a better understanding of what it takes to build resilience in urban settings. This paper summarizes the learning from the pilots and looks at how Oxfam can further strengthen its urban resilience programming.

Seeking to gain knowledge about resilience, this case study considered a 2007-09 Red Cross preparedness project funded by the Disaster Preparedness European Community Humanitarian Office (DIPECHO). The project was implemented around the Nevado del Huila volcano in Colombia, in a largely rural area with a predominantly indigenous population. The findings and analysis point to the importance of listening to and learning from the community, including its traditional and indigenous resilience practices, as well as the iterative nature of resilient development. The field research also yielded interesting material about perceptions and practices of resilience in Nasa indigenous communities., This report is part of a series that seeks to draw lessons from resilience projects in Latin America and the Pacific. Follow the links below to the other papers in the series: Addressing Water Shortages: A catalyst for more resilient development in Fiji Building Resilience Through Iterative Processes: Mainstreaming ancestral knowledge, social movements and the making of sustainable programming in Bolivia Learning from Hindsight: A synthesis report on Oxfam resilience research, This research was conducted with the support of the Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies.