Oxfam warns of climate-related disasters

Oxfam says the world's relief agencies will be overwhelmed by a rise in the number of people affected by climate-related disasters by 2015. According to a new Oxfam report on Tuesday, hundreds of millions of people will become victims of climate change-related disasters over the next six years unless the quantity and quality of aid improves. Based on data of similar disasters since 1980, Oxfam estimates the number of people affected by climatic disasters would rise by an average of 54% to 375 million people a year by 2015. The British-based aid and development charity further urged governments to take action in order to change the way they respond to such events. "The response is often fickle -- too little, too late and not good enough," said Oxfam chief executive Barbara Stocking. "The system can barely cope with the current levels of disasters and could be overwhelmed by a substantial increase in numbers of people affected. There must be a fundamental reform of the system." "While there has been a steady increase in climate-related events, it is poverty and political indifference that make a storm a disaster," she explained. According to Oxfam policy advisor, Rob Bailey, the problem was not just about the amount of money. "We need to see that money spent in better ways," Bailey said. "At the moment, poor people in the developing world who are facing up to these disasters, they are almost facing a kind of lottery on a global scale." "There's a huge mismatch in where the money goes," he concluded.