Bangladesh and India among worst affected by climate change
(27 April 2009)

Oxfam today called on Asian communities in the UK to take a leading role in the global movement against climate change. With people in Bangladesh and India currently among the worst affected, Oxfam is urging the Asian community to join its 'Here and Now' campaign and ensure the interest of these communities are at the heart of international treaty negotiations on climate change this December. Oxfam’s recent report The Right to Survive has revealed a 54 per cent increase in people suffering as a result of climate disasters by 2015, a staggering 375 million people, unless action is taken now.

With Bangladesh already struggling to cope, this increase could overwhelm emergency responses and dwarf the international community’s ability torespond quickly and effectively. Flooding, cyclones and droughts are already hitting poor communities in Asia hard, together with hotter temperatures, erratic rains and disrupted planting seasons. In Bangladesh, frequent flooding has been aggravated above normal levels, last year alone affecting over nine million people. In India floods have waterlogged acres of land, destroying crops and overwhelming drainage and irrigation systems. Likewise, communities in the South Punjab in Pakistan are facing increasing problems due to flooding and aid groups in the region are predicting increasing losses of land and safe water.

UN talks in Copenhagen this December could deliver essential funds to support these communities, provided governments do the right thing and prioritise the needs of the people worst affected. Oxfam is calling for $50billion, above and beyond current aid packages, to help poor countries adapt to the effects of climate change, before crisis strikes.

“The world must change the way it delivers aid so that it builds on the country’s ability to prepare for and withstand future shocks. National governments, with the help of the international community must invest more in reducing the risk of disasters”, said Barbara Stocking, Chief Executive of Oxfam.

Oxfam is currently supporting disaster preparedness projects in Bangladesh, Pakistan and India. Examples include raising houses on platforms, first-aid and search and rescue training, the construction of tube-wells for safe water and the building of flood shelters. But these types of projects will need significant international investment if governments want to reduce the suffering of 375 million people by 2015.

On a recent trip to Bangladesh, Oxfam’s Global Campaigner Selina Shelley witnessed outrage at one of a series of Oxfam hearings, designed to give a voice to affected communities. “Over 2,500 people attended the hearing and civil society groups gave a clear message to Western countries that they must take responsibility for the suffering of those affected by climate change. They firmly believe that the industrialisation and lifestyle of rich countries has played a large part in the plight of local people and are seeking compensation to help them prepare.”

Here & Now Campaign

In East Ham on Monday, members of the public joined with Oxfam beneath the Town Hall clock, to launch Oxfam’s most ambitious campaign to date. The Here and Now campaign aims to raise £40m over five years to help fund Oxfam’s climate change work and to mobilise the public to demand a fairer deal for the world’s poorest and most vulnerable people.

The campaign launched today at key cities and towns throughout Scotland, Wales and the UK. The support of East Ham is vital in the lead up to the UN Climate Change Conference in December this year, as MP Stephen Timms is Financial Secretary for the Treasury and it’s crucial that he uses his influence to ensure the UK government stays on track and commits to being a global leader in the climate change negotiations.

Sarah Ricketts, Oxfam Campaigner from Stoke Newington in London said “It’s fantastic to launch our Here and Now campaign in East Ham today. In our programmes, we are already seeing the human cost of climate change in our work, with unpredictable weather having a devastating effect. Public pressure is so important this year, as the UN conference in Copenhagen must deliver a global deal that not only puts poor people at its heart, but also sets emission targets which can help avoid catastrophic climate change.”

In six years’ time, the number of people affected by climatic crises is projected to rise by 54 per cent to 375 million people. The projected rise is mainly due to a combination of entrenched poverty and people migrating to densely populated slums which are prone to the increasing number of climatic events. This does not include people hit by other disasters such as wars, earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Oxfam believes that the UN deal in Copenhagen must not only deliver strong emission reduction targets, but also make desperately needed funding available for poor communities already living on the front-line of climate change. Oxfam will continue to be a leading front-line agency that responds to humanitarian crises but it will also be increasing its investment in programmes that help to reduce poor people vulnerability to disasters.

People can join Oxfam’s Here and Now campaign and petition Gordon Brown directly by going to www.oxfam.org.uk/hereandnow or texting ‘now’ to 87099. Standard network rates apply.