Briefs

Climate Equality: A planet for the 99%

The world faces twin crises of climate breakdown and runaway inequality.

ARTILLERY SHELLS TRANSFER

President Biden should halt the transfer of 155mm artillery shells to Israel, and if he does not, Congress should step in. Israel, like all countries, has legitimate defense needs. However, these particular shells do not serve them. Instead, 155mm shells are a weapon of choice in Israel’s ground operation in Gaza, which will cause untold harm to civilians as it intensifies further. Israel’s use of this munition in past conflicts demonstrates that its use would be virtually assured to be indiscriminate, unlawful, and devastating to civilians in Gaza.

Alignment of the United States Export-Import Bank (US EXIM) with the US climate and development policy objectives

This study and its corresponding policy brief assess the alignment of United States Export-Import Bank (EXIM)—the official export credit agency (ECA) of the US—with the country’s climate and development policy objectives derived from relevant Executive Orders (EOs), acts, guidance, and strategic policy documents. ECAs are government- backed financial institutions that typically promote trade abroad and support the competitiveness of national companies overseas. As public finance institutions, they bear the political mandates and international commitments of their respective governments, including those under international treaties such as the Paris Agreement and the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Agenda.

This study examines EXIM against the framework of policy coherence for sustainable development that promotes the principle of a whole-of-government coordination. The methodology for this study includes desk-based research and interviews to further corroborate key findings. Interviewees included representatives from EXIM, the US Treasury, and the US Congress, as well as civil society actors such as Friends of the Earth US and the Sierra Club. The report is further complemented by information collected during the US EXIM Bank 2022 Annual Conference.

The corresponding policy brief explores the role of EXIM for US climate and development policy and proposes recommendations for the reform of EXIM to ensure its alignment with these US policy objectives. 

Meaningful rights holder engagement: An introduction

After more than a decade of engaging rights holders and working with affected communities, Oxfam has developed a clear understanding of what engagement should look like. This document presents the key principles that companies should integrate into their thinking and practices.

Are G20 Countries Doing Their Fair Share of Global Climate Mitigation?

Comparing ambition and fair shares assessments of G20 countries’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)

Achieving Agenda 2030: Trends in the allocation of TOSSD resources towards leaving no one behind, A review of 2021 TOSSD data for the Sustainable Development Goals

The Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD) statistical framework “is designed to provide a coherent, comparable and unified system for tracking resources for sustainable development that can inform strategic planning, identify emerging gaps and priorities, and assess progress in matching supply with needs.” In a dramatically changing financing landscape, TOSSD is intended to deliver greater transparency in the financing of sustainable development, including both concessional and non-concessional official resources as well as mobilized private flows that are reported separately, from a broad scope of providers, north and south. The framework requires data on the specific Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and targets “that the activity directly and significantly contributes to,” where “no substantial detrimental effect is anticipated on one or more of the other targets.” In March 2023, the TOSSD Task Force released the 2021 data at the activity level, which had been reported by 105 providers. ActionAid Italy, Oxfam International, and AidWatch Canada have analyzed these data and the apparent trends in TOSSD allocations in a series of five Briefing Papers.

This second Briefing Paper looks in depth at patterns in the allocation of 2021 TOSSD resources towards the SDGs. It can be read as a stand-alone report, but the reader will benefit from reviewing the first Briefing Paper (see https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/research-publications/trends-in-official-support-for-agenda-2030/) for background on overall trends in the TOSSD data since 2019.