Calling for climate justice

We’re not all equally responsible for climate change, this is a crisis caused by the richest countries, and the richest people within them.

So it’s deeply unjust that those of us who can afford it the least are paying the highest price.

A more equal world is possible. One where any of us at risk from the climate crisis have what we need to survive extreme weather and build sustainable futures for generations to come.

So, alongside climate activists here in Scotland and across the world, Oxfam Scotland is demanding climate justice. We’re holding decision-makers in Scotland to account for their actions to reduce our emissions quickly and fairly. And were helping to secure vital funds to help our partners and communities impacted by the climate crisis to adapt to the changing environment and to recover from the deep losses and damages already being caused by climate change.

The climate crisis isn’t about the future, it’s happening now. People who’ve done the least to cause it are being pushed deeper into poverty and fighting for their lives due to extreme and unpredictable weather – losing livelihoods, homes and facing famine.

Around the world, we're seeing the devastating impact every day. That’s why Oxfam is calling for rich, high polluting nations to urgently increase their support.

In 2012, the Scottish Government made the welcome move to set up its Climate Justice Fund to support communities in their partner countries – Malawi, Rwanda, Zambia – to become more resilient to climate change. Following pressure from Oxfam Scotland and others, Ministers committed to trebling this fund, committing £36 million by 2026.

But some communities are already feeling the irreversible impacts of climate change.

In 2021, during the UN’s global climate talks COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland became one of the first governments in the world to commit money to addressing the irreversible impacts of climate change. Momentum grew, and in November 2023, a new global Loss and Damage Fund was created.

Since then, the Scottish Government has sought to boost understanding about how the new Fund can deliver tangible benefits for communities in low-income and climate vulnerable nations.

Oxfam is proud to have received funding to work with communities in northern Kenya, where repeat droughts and floods, have damaged infrastructure, destroyed livelihoods, and fuelled conflict.

But it’s impossible to ignore the incoherence of Scotland providing much-needed funding to clean up the mess of climate change, while simultaneously failing to reduce our emissions at scale and speed.

Like other rich, high polluting countries, Scotland has a clear responsibility to slash our harmful emissions. We’ve halved the emissions generated in Scotland since 1990. But, just like at UK level, we’re just not going fast enough.

The Scottish Government declared a climate emergency in 2019 and promised that Scotland would reach net zero – achieving a balance between the carbon emitted into the atmosphere and the carbon removed from it – by 2045, five years ahead of the UK Government.

But we’ve missed a series of annual targets and Scottish Ministers have abandoned a crucial interim climate target.

While we’ve seen a major success in decarbonising electricity production in Scotland, that has yet to been replicated in the way we heat our homes, the way we travel, and how we farm and use the land.

Oxfam Scotland is working with our partners at Scotland’s climate coalition, Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, to push for faster action. We’ve set out a manifesto packed with policies and actions, many of which would unlock clear benefits – from warmer homes and cleaner air to better health.

And with clear evidence that the world must urgently end our use of climate-wrecking fossil fuels, we’re pushing hard for the UK and Scotland to accelerate the phase out from the North Sea and the switch to clean energy, while ensuring this transition is delivered fairly.

We’ve also supported IPPR Scotland to explore how to make the switch to clean heat in our homes fair for everyone and the Scottish Women’s Budget Group’s work to ensure that climate action delivers gender justice as well as climate justice.

There’s no denying that accelerating climate action carries a hefty upfront price tag, but it will cut the costs of climate clean ups, like Storm Babet in Brechin, and make the economy more productive.

Smart spending on energy efficient homes, improved and cheaper public transport, and active travel aren’t just eco-friendly choices; they’re economic and health no brainers.

Maximising the impact of existing public funds is essential, but not enough. We need additional resources.

The tax system – at global, UK and Scotland levels – must be leveraged to fairly fund the necessary investment, shield the vulnerable, and encourage polluters to clean up their acts.

Oxfam is pushing for a series of UK-wide fair taxes on the biggest polluters – including fossil fuel firms – to boost investment in climate action. But we’re also showing how Scotland’s devolved tax system can support our climate ambitions, including by tackling blatant climate injustices, such as the use of private jets.

We are an active member of Stop Climate Chaos Scotland (SCCS): a diverse coalition of over 60 civil society organisations campaigning together on climate change in Scotland.