UK development finance must put people first

An investigation by The i Paper has revealed that British aid is funding polluting schemes in Africa and Asia. They report “British International Investment, owned by the Foreign Office, has funded power plants and pipelines as part of its remit to invest in ‘development’ projects for a financial return for the UK taxpayer.”

Dr Halima Begum, Oxfam GB CEO told The i Paper: “Oxfam has serious concerns about the amount of UK aid being channelled into British International Investment (BII), especially given longstanding evidence that its investments are not reliably focused on reducing poverty. The International Development Committee (IDC) has also raised issues around BII’s transparency, accountability and its limited emphasis on the needs of people living in poverty.”

“We’re worried about the wider trend of UK aid being used to subsidise commercial interests rather than its core purpose of improving the lives of people living in poverty. BII has received a growing share of the aid budget despite clear evidence that its private for-profit investments in critical sectors like health and education not only exacerbate inequality but are also linked to serious human rights abuses. This is of urgent concern and is deepening rather than reducing poverty and inequality, particularly for women and girls.”

Beth John, Climate Advisor at Oxfam, added: “As a major channel for delivering the UK’s climate finance, the continued exposure of BII’s global portfolio to fossil fuels, alongside its inadequate net zero target, remains deeply worrying. 

"In the many countries in the Global South already living with the effects of climate breakdown, development finance should support communities to both adapt to these impacts and transition towards clean, affordable energy, rather than locking communities in outdated and polluting systems."

The i Paper reports that since 2015, Britain’s aid budget has supported £320m in active investments in gas power plants, pipelines and oil exploration across countries including Ghana, Nigeria and Bangladesh. Eighteen of these investments were entered into after the UK signed the Paris Agreement, a legally binding international treaty, which requires countries to reduce carbon emissions to combat climate change.