Briefs

Trends in Official Support for Agenda 2030: An Overview of TOSSD Data, 2019 to 2021

In March 2023, the International TOSSD Task Force1 released the 2021 data that had been reported by 105 providers documenting their Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD) for that year. TOSSD is a new metric developed by the International Task Force as a comprehensive measure of official resources dedicated to achieving Agenda 2030 and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in developing countries, reflecting the ambitious financing strategy agreed in the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA) in 2015.

There are now three years of TOSSD data from 2019 to 2021. What do these three years of data reveal about the extent and the quality of financing for Agenda 2030 and the SDGs?

This Briefing Paper, the first in a series of five, provides an overview of trends derived from the 2019 to 2021 data and sets the stage for in-depth analyses in the subsequent paprers. It acknowledges that TOSSD is an evolving metric for providers, with major providers such as the World Bank, Germany and the Netherlands not yet reporting, and with individual providers increasing the coverage of their eligible finance over these years. Comparisons between providers can be problematic. The trends outlined in these papers therefore at this stage can only be interpreted as indicative of directions of finance for Agenda 2030.

Harnessing the Potential of African Women in Agriculture to Meet the Continent's Growing Demand for Food

While there have been some efforts to meet Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 5 – achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls – these efforts have fallen short of the targets. The Covid-19 pandemic and increased conflict in Africa and Ukraine have further hindered progress, particularly on the African continent. Due to these and other current events, we have observed an upsurge in challenges for women’s equality, namely issues related to job creation, sexual and reproductive health, and the unpaid care workload, as well as an increase in direct violence against women. To achieve SDG 5 and other SDGs, we must start addressing these challenges immediately and effectively.

Human Rights Due Diligence: An overview

In 2011, the international community unanimously endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), which clarify what is expected from companies and governments when it comes to human rights. But how best to proceed?

Where Hard Work Doesn’t Pay Off: Policy Recommendations

In June, Oxfam published research that features a robust new index comparing US labor laws to those of economic peer nations. “Where Hard Work Doesn’t Pay Off” tracks 56 policies across 38 nations in three key dimensions: wages, worker protections, and rights to organize.

Unfinished Business: Contract Transparency In The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative

The urgency of climate action and the complexity of the energy transition mean it has never been more important to be able to understand the deals made between companies and governments for oil, gas and minerals. Thankfully, since 2021, implementing countries of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) have been required to disclose the contracts between governments and extractive companies.

This briefing surveys the contract disclosure practice of the 57 EITI-implementing countries to understand the extent of their contract disclosure practice. The briefing highlights trends, areas of insufficient disclosure and best practices.

Climate Finance Shadow Report 2023

In 2009, high-income countries committed in the Copenhagen Accords to mobilize US$100 billion a year by 2020 in climate finance for low- and middle-income countries. Oxfam reported on the progress of this commitment in 2016, 2018 and 2020. This year’s report finds that high-income countries have not only failed to deliver on their commitment, but also – as in previous years – generous accounting practices have allowed them to overstate the level of support they have actually provided. Moreover, much of the finance has been provided as loans, which means that it risks increasing the debt burden of the countries it is supposed to help.

This paper calls on high-income countries to accelerate the mobilization and provision of climate finance, and to make up the shortfall from previous years, in a way that is equitable and just. High-income countries must provide finance that is transparent, with genuine accountability mechanisms, and that allows for far more local ownership and responsiveness to the needs of communities it is intended to reach. People on the frontlines of the climate crisis must have the funding they were promised for adaptation and mitigation, and to address the loss and damage they are already experiencing as a result of climate impacts.