“In 10 years, we have grown to become the world’s largest Protestant and Orthodox network working on humanitarian assistance, development and advocacy,” said Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, General Secretary of ACT Alliance, at an event to celebrate ACT’s 10^th anniversary in Geneva on February 27, 2020.  ACT has grown to be an alliance of over 135 churches and related agencies working in over 120 countries around the world in its first decade.

“Together, we have responded to many emergencies, ranging from the Haiti earthquake to the protracted crisis in Syria to the drought in the Horn of Africa. [We are present] in every corner of the planet, where our members, especially national members, can respond to small, medium and large crises.

“Through our members we engage in development, connecting with existing processes like the 2030 Agenda, and in advocacy work to promote human rights and fight against injustice,” he continued.

The event, held at the Ecumenical Centre in Geneva, drew over 100 people: staff from ACT members, the World Council of Churches, ACT partners, peer agencies, and the UN. 

“ACT Alliance and its members have done and continue to do vitally important work; having a real impact for some of the poorest and most marginalised people. You do this work in Christ’s name as Action by the Churches Together, ” said Dr. Isabel Apawo Phiri, Deputy General Secretary of the World Council of Churches.  “The World Council of Churches looks forward to working together with ACT Alliance over the next 10 years and beyond. ACT Alliance is an essential part of the ecumenical family; your work is needed and deeply appreciated.”

“The ACT Alliance has been, and continues to be an expression of the ecumenical commitment of the LWF and other members of the Alliance to work together with others in the ecumenical movement, to engage in the diaconal ministry of our churches and to serve those most in need,” said Maria Immonen, Director of World Service for the Lutheran World Federation and member of the ACT Governing Board. “LWF remains committed to this vision – that of an Alliance and an ecumenical movement which is not occupied with itself, but with the people in the world that it was created to serve. The fact that the world is changing at a higher speed than ever before, and the challenges are growing bigger every day, makes it even more important that we don’t lose sight of the reason why we created the ACT Alliance.”

“Together, we are stronger.  Together, we will continue as an alliance to speak out, to stand up, and act against injustices. We will promote climate justice, gender justice, the rights of people on the move, peace and human security, and also the protection of those people affected by emergencies and crises,” concluded de Faria.

Action by Churches Together (ACT Alliance) is celebrating its 10^th Anniversary since it was officially launched on January 1, 2010 as the ecumenical family’s agency for humanitarian relief, sustainable development and advocacy.

Together, we have responded to humanitarian disasters ranging from the Haiti earthquake, to the protracted crisis in Syria, to drought in the horn of Africa. We have engaged in capacity building, development and advocacy towards a world where all of God’s creation lives with dignity, justice, peace and full respect for human rights and the environment.

Over its first decade, ACT Alliance has reaffirmed its identity as a coalition of churches and affiliated organisations charged with the responsibility to serve people and communities affected by crises, poverty and injustice.

“We are proud of the work and achievements of our members over the last ten years. ACT’s unique structure which encompasses national and regional forums continues to facilitate the delivery of our effective, accountable and consistent work,” says Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, ACT’s General Secretary.

Together, we will continue to speak out, stand up and act against injustice, fight for climate justice, gender justice, the rights of people on the move, peace and human security, and the protection of people affected by emergencies.

Together, we are stronger.

In ten years, we have grown to become the world’s largest Protestant and Orthodox network on humanitarian relief, sustainable development, and advocacy, with over 130 churches and agencies working in over 120 countries. We look forward to what we will achieve in the next ten years!

We thank you for your continued support and commitment!

ACT 10th anniversary resources:

• 10th anniversary prayer EN ES FR
• 10th anniversary logo EN ES FR
• 10th anniversary photo gallery

Faith based organisations including the ACT Alliance, the Lutheran World Federation, Christian Aid and Act Church of Sweden have joined forces to launch a period of intense prayer and action for the climate.

These organisations launched a year long prayer and action chain ahead of the COP 26 summit in Glasgow in November later in the year to encourage communities of faith to pray and act for climate justice.

During this period of Lent which starts today, ecumenical organisations intensify prayer about everything and we encourage all to include adequate and effective actions for the climate and to influence policy makers at any level accessible to them to increase political will particularly towards COP 26, where we pray to see more consensus and real action which has been missing these past years.

Arnold Ambundo, ACT Alliance’s Global Climate Justice Coordinator says that “Our survival on this God-given earth is facing an existential threat from the adverse impacts of climate change.  Now more than ever humankind is called upon to come together in prayer and in action to urgently reverse the current trend of business as usual to guarantee the needs of present and future generations as demanded by the word of God in the creation stories”.

In the face of devastating loss and suffering by those who mostly had very little to do with causing climate change, the organisations call on all to pray and act for climate justice with us as we reflect on the diversity of creation. Abena Afari of Christian Aid said: “Let’s embrace in love and solidarity impoverished communities, women, children, indigenous people, migrants, refugees who historically have generated a low carbon footprint, yet are the ones facing the greatest impacts from the destruction to planet and climate caused by overconsumption by the rich and an economic model based on extraction and exploitation”

“If we truly care about bridging the inequality gap between the rich and the poor, we need to create solidarity between people and peoples and call for governments and industries to deliver radical and rapid emissions reductions and ways to increase resilience to already unavoidable impacts of climate change and ecological destruction”.

During the Earth Summit in 1992, the United Nations together with Governments and Civil Society agreed to a framework to battle the emission of greenhouse gases which cause climate change. The UN Convention on Climate Change provides a framework through which discussions are held with all global players with respect to humanity’s current challenge of tackling the climate crisis.

LWF’s Program Executive for Climate Justice, Elena Cedillo Vargas, underscored the importance of this global, ecumenical initiative: She said; “We are at a crucial moment, now, more than ever before, we must take care of creation, our common home, and call on our leaders to take more ambitious and urgent action to stop the climate crisis.”  COP26, Cedillo stressed, is “the last chance for countries to really show their commitments to reduce their carbon emissions. There is no going back, the decision is in our hands, we all need to change our habits and pay more attention to cries of the earth.”

Please sign up to our face book page https://www.facebook.com/Act4Climate2020/

Notes to editors:

The ACT Alliance is a global network of churches and church-based agencies that does humanitarian response, sustainable development, and advocacy work.  ACT is made up of 156 members working in over 125 countries.

Media contacts:

Simon Chambers, Director of Communications, ACT Alliance

Mobile: +1-416-435-0972

Email: Simon.Chambers@actalliance.org

Rev. Arni Svanur Danielsson, Head of Communication, Lutheran World Federation

Mobile: +41 78 929 9686

Email: arni.danielsson@lutheranworld.org

Joe Ware, Comms Manager, News & Emergencies, Christian Aid

Mobile: +44 78 7094 4485

Emal: JWare@christian-aid.org

Twitter: @wareisjoe

How might the wars in Mali, South Sudan and Somalia be impacted if climate change was no longer an issue? While it is impossible to know precisely, climate scientists have identified disturbing links between climate change and conflict.

People living in fragile contexts are struggling to survive as climate-related threats intensify. It is frightening to see how drastic shifts in weather patterns result in severe drought, which is often followed by flooding. Extreme environmental change is decimating crops, water reserves and is wreaking havoc in local economies. Disputes over the control of arable land and water sources may also lead to increased violence and conflict many fragile states.

As the International Security Conference kicks off in Munich today, state leaders, ministers and experts will meet to discuss the anticipated global threats to international security and ways to overcome them. While there are many factors at the local and international level that affect conflict, there is a growing realisation that the global temperature rise must be addressed to prevent further violence and to sustain peace.

While the threats posed by climate change are extremely worrying, there is a silver lining worth noting in the context of conflict. The reality is that many drivers of conflict, such as historical, ethnic or religious relationships, or the struggle for power are difficult to influence and there are no straightforward solutions. However, once leaders recognise that climate change is a potential driver of violent conflict that must be addressed, they will find that there are concrete and immediate measures that can be put in place to address it.

We know that in the coming years climate change will have dramatic consequences on countries south of the Sahara as less rainfall and more heatwaves will make it challenging to sustain agricultural activities. This reality and potential source of conflict could be addressed in two ways. One way is that massive investments could be made towards climate adaptation using technologies and new farming methods to enable communities to develop and grow crops even if the climate is changing.

Alternatively, the changing conditions could be accepted and efforts could instead be directed towards helping people to safely resettle in new areas. While migration has been a common strategy throughout history (sometimes by choice, and other times not), it is not without the risk of violence, social unrest and hardships for those displaced.

There is a need to increase climate finance specifically for countries where climate-related conflicts are looming. Climate finance should not only be scaled up but it should also be carefully considered in terms of how it can best support communities that are most likely to be displaced and suffer from violence. While rich countries could argue that they are already mobilising support, these efforts are lagging and continue to prioritise the needs of emerging economies instead of the poorest and most vulnerable countries where the risk of climate-related conflict is most significant.

I hope that participants at the Munich Security Conference will consider this perspective because climate change is a security threat and needs to be tackled as one immediately.

Blog written by Mattias Söderberg (@Mattias_S). Senior advocacy adviser at DanChurchAid. Mattias currently serves as the co-chair of ACT’s Climate Change Working Group.

One of the key issues that was discussed during the ACT Secretariat meetings in Athens, Greece at the beginning of February was migration and displacement.  As one of the key thematics of the ACT global strategy, migration and displacement is an area of focus for many members around the world, from North America to Asia, Africa to MENA, and Latin America to Europe.

While in Athens, ACT’s General Secretary, Rudelmar Bueno de Faria, met with His Beatitude, Archbishop Ieronymos II, and with His Emminence, Metropolitan Gabriel of the Greek Orthodox Church.  The conversation with both leaders involved the issue of migration.

“The situation of migrants and refugees in Greece is indicative of the complexity of migration issues globally, and the need for better policies and support of those living in tents in ‘hot spots’—sites created to quickly process migrants seeking entry into Greece, is crystal clear,” said de Faria.

Metropolitan Gabriel spoke of the vital role the issue of migration plays for the church in Greece.  “We must act now on this issue.  We have engaged in humanitarian response for years, and we will continue to do so.  But it is the time for advocacy now.  This is a global issue of concern to every country, every person.”

ACT members have responded to the needs of migrants since 2015 through members of the ACT Europe Forum, and through Apostoli, the Archdiocese’s agency for Mission.

The ACT Secretariat devoted a session to discussing the migration situation in Greece, as well as another talking about global issues related to migration and displacement.

“I’m very proud of the work of the Church of Greece in responding to the migration and refugee crisis.  ACT is ready to stand alongside the Church in its call to act now,” concluded de Faria.

In response to the Middle East plan released last Tuesday by the US President Donald Trump

The ACT Alliance, through its Palestine Forum, the largest coalition of Protestant and Orthodox churches and church-related organizations engaged in humanitarian, development and advocacy work, calls upon the international community to categorically reject Trump’s “Peace to Prosperity” plan and to uphold their commitments to international law and multilateral cooperation as the only way to safeguard security and ensure lasting peace.

On Tuesday January 28, 2020 US President Donald Trump unveiled a “Peace to Prosperity” Plan, claiming that it aims, according to the US administration, to improve the lives of Palestinians and Israeli people.

ACT Alliance condemns the US administration’s proposal – consistent with US policy shifts we have witnessed over the past years – as a blatant breach of international law, and we reiterate that any solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict must be negotiated and accepted by both sides. The U.S. administration reaffirmed once again its recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, approved the annexations of the Israeli settlements in the West Bank, the Jordan Valley and the northern Dead Sea and reaffirmed its recognition of the Golan Heights. In other words, the U.S. policy encourages annexation and exacerbates human rights violations in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) and the Golan Heights.

Israeli authorities have been engaged in incremental, de facto annexation since it occupied the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, in 1967. According to the Fourth Geneva Convention, an occupier may not transfer its population to the territories it occupies. Therefore, any plans to annex parts of the occupied territories are illegal and unacceptable. The extension of Israeli sovereignty to the West Bank, or even parts of it, would be an ultimate blow to the two-state solution and risks triggering irreversible effect on peace prospects in the region.

Trump’s plan also disregards the Palestinian People’s right of return and right to self- determination.It is essential that any peace agreement includes a just resolution to the question of Palestinian refugees.

The struggle for indigenous rights extends to Palestine, indigenous peoples around the world share a similar experience to the Palestinian struggle for their rights. The Palestinian land includes open-air prisons and territories occupied militarily and administratively by Israel through a complex matrix of control. Checkpoints, illegal land expropriation and home demolitions are among other colonial and apartheid-style policies that have turned Israeli’s illegal actions into a bureaucratic process.

ACT Alliance members are deeply concerned about the human rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territories(oPt), and we call upon the international community to:

● Firmly reject the U.S. “Peace to Prosperity” plan as a viable solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and any implication based on this plan.
● Ensure that the state of Israel respects International Human Rights Law (IHRL) and International Humanitarian law (IHL) and hold Israel accountable for its ongoing annexation policies.
● Take immediate action to lift the blockade on Gaza and end the illegal occupation to reduce human suffering in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.
● Ensure sufficient funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) and increase support to East Jerusalem hospitals and other humanitarian programs given the severe cuts in U.S. funding for the West Bank and Gaza.

Delivered by Christian Wolff, Programme manager migration and displacement

Thank you, Chair.

ACT Alliance is proud to support the Clean Energy Challenge mentioned earlier, and we are listed among the initial group of supporters.

We are grateful for the interesting and thought provoking contributions from the panelists earlier, and would like to stress two particular aspects that are of crucial importance from our perspective.

One is the absolute necessity to work towards renewable energy, and to get out of the cycle of producing carbon as we access energy – in any setting, including during emergencies. For us, this is part and parcel of achieving climate justice in the context of the need for raising our collective ambition to implement the Paris Agreement.

Secondly, and this is an aspect which was a bit neglected on the panel – we would like to stress the need to keep working for alternatives to camps. Our efforts to provide access to renewable energy to refugees should not be constricted by delivering these solutions in the relatively more convenient setting of a camp, but rather, our collective ambition should be to enable both refugees and host communities alike to access such energy. This would go a long way not only towards supporting SDGs 7 and 13, but would also support the whole of society approach  promoted by the Global Compact on Refugees and make it easier for refugees to effectively access all of their rights, including but not limited to, the right to access energy in a sustainable way.

There are over 70 million displaced people in the world today, with numbers steadily increasing each year. More than two thirds of them never have a chance to leave their own countries, adding to the ranks of internally displaced persons. Out of all those displaced, over 84% are being hosted in countries of the Global South. Not only are the numbers of displaced people increasing, so is the average duration of their displacement, which now stands at 17 years. The intractable nature of conflicts is producing increasingly protracted situations of displacement around the globe, without durable solutions in sight for those affected. 

On 19^th September 2016, the UN General Assembly adopted the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants (NYD), which mandated member states to develop a Global Compact on Refugees (GCR) and a Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM). These two agreements were officially adopted by the General Assembly at the end of 2018. Although formally non-binding instruments, the two  Compacts offer important frameworks for enhancing international cooperation among states and for increasing the availability of protection and access to rights for refugees and migrants.

The GCR attempts to strengthen the concept of responsibility sharing among states for the plight of refugees through its four main objectives, i.e. easing pressures on host countries; building self-reliance of refugees; expanding refugees´ access to third countries through resettlement and other pathways; and supporting conditions for voluntary return.

In order to help implement their commitments under the GCR, member states agreed to create a Global Refugee Forum (GRF), to be held at highest government level every four years. The first ever GRF is taking place this year in Geneva on 17-18 December, starting with side events on the 16.

States and other stakeholders, including civil society and the private sector, prepared for the GRF by organising a number of pledges to improve refugee protection under six themes:

• Burden- & responsibility-sharing
• Education
• Jobs and livelihoods
• Protection capacity
• Solutions
• Energy & infrastructure

Stakeholders were encouraged to engage in joint pledging, a process that is still underway and is expected to be further enhanced by the activities at the GRF, as well as during the follow-up period. Many states and organisations will announce their pledges, which can include material and/or organisational support in a variety of ways, at the Forum this week. 

While many ACT members have each been preparing their own pledges ACT Alliance has decided to join different initiatives and pledges.

For instance, together with Act for Peace, Act Alliance made a pledge to “Strengthen informed refugee decision-making and effective preparedness by refugees and other actors for multiple refugee futures, including durable solutions” in the thematic area of Solutions.

Building upon our programmatic and policy work with existing partners, including refugee-led organisations, and members across diverse contexts, this pledge aims to strengthen informed refugee decision-makingand more effective preparedness, by refugees and other actors, for multiple refugee futures, including durable solutions. Amongst other elements, this will include:

• Strengthening age, gender, and diversity (AGD)-responsiveness, in particular our focus upon women’s empowerment and gender equity, in our programming, policy and advocacy work in this area;
• Ensuring that the leadership and meaningful participation of refugees is promoted and enabled to the maximum extent in all of our programming, policy and advocacy work in this area; and
• Extending our existing focus upon informed refugee decision making and refugee preparedness for safe and dignified voluntary repatriation and reintegration to include further work on informed refugee decision making and diverse actor preparedness for all durable solutions and ‘alternative pathways’
• We will dedicate financial, technical and other resources to deliver this pledge and will seek proactively to broaden the base of support for innovation, replication and scaling in this area
• We will develop and report against indicators, and will share lessons learned.

Two weeks of intense climate negotiations in Madrid have ended. The summit went over time as rich countries adamantly refused to give in to the demands from poor countries for urgent action to address climate losses, additional finances, and higher ambition in the reduction of emissions. The agreement covers a number of important topics, which will guide governments in their forthcoming work to tackle the climate emergency.

An overall message from the summit in Madrid, was sent to all governments. In 2020 they are all required to submit new national climate plans (NDCs). Here in Madrid, it was agreed that,in order to send a signal, governments are encouraged to scale up ambition. The head of the ACT Alliance delegation, Mattias Söderberg, says “We have a climate emergency, and the need for action is urgent. All parties should now return home, and consider how they can scale up their ambition, when they draft their new plans. Parties should keep in mind that the Paris Agreement refers to the need to limit global temperature raise to 1.5 degrees, and that urgent action is needed.”  

The agreement in Madrid acknowledged the need to mobilize support and finance for people and communities facing loss and damage due to the effects of climate change. However, with weak wording, the actual effect is still uncertain. Isaiah Toroitich, ACT Alliance’s Head of Advocacy and Development Policy, says, “We are happy that the need for loss and damage finance has finally been acknowledged, and agreed, and now we hope all developed countries will deliver on the call to mobilize support. Poor and vulnerable people around the world are already suffering the effects of climate change, and we must act now to support them.“

Toroitich continues, “However, we are also concerned, as there is no promise the support will be new, or additional compared to existing commitments. There is therefore a big risk that loss and damage finance, will be taken from existing climate, development and humanitarian funds, meaning that there only will be a change of labels. What we need is action, not a desk-exercise moving funds between different boxes.  We need new finance, above and beyond already existing money.  Without it, we are just cutting the same cake into smaller slices.”

The summit in Madrid has been difficult, and parties have been far apart on several topics. That includes climate finance, where parties ended with a conclusion that they could not agree. Important decisions were therefore pushed forward to 2020. Söderberg comments, “Poor and vulnerable communities need support now, and important decision about climate finance should not be delayed. It is a waste of time and money to gather finance negotiators from all over the world, and to spend two weeks of talks, and to only conclude that talks should continue. “

Fortunately, there was also good news from Madrid. A Gender Action Plan was adopted, with clear references to human rights, and the need for allocation of resources, for gender action. Toroitich comments, “We are happy there could be a good agreement about gender. Gender justice must be addressed in all actions, and it is good, that there is a plan to take this work forward.”

For further comment, please contact:

Mattias Söderberg +45 29 70 06 09, msd@dca.dk
Head of Delegation, ACT Alliance

Isaiah Toroitich +41 79 825 78 99, Isaiah.toroitich@actalliance.org
Head of advocacy and development policy, ACT Alliance

Simon Chambers +1 416 435 0972, simon.chambers@actalliance.org
Director of communications, ACT Alliance

XXX

ACT Alliance and member Bread for the World hosted a joined side event at COP25 with the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations, and the German Development Institute.

The side event titled Breaking new ground: Advancing Loss and Damage governance and finance mechanisms brought together negotiators, civil society, academia and others to explore pathways to advance Loss and Damage governance and finance mechanisms.

The event was moderated by Isaiah Toroitich ACT’s Head of Advocacy and Development Policy who connected the realities of loss and damage as witnessed by ACT members around the world to the ongoing negotiations in Madrid. Toroitich noted the need to strengthen the conceptual understanding of loss and damage in the climate talks and to mobilise finance accordingly.

Lola Vallejo, Climate Programme Director of the Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations explored potential ways forward for the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage. Vallejo noted that while there has been progress on understanding the concept of loss and damage and its connections to emissions and human displacement, there is a lack of understanding on whether comprehensive risk management approaches should plan for a two or four-degree world.

While there has been much discussion at COP25 on the need to mobilise support for loss and damage, there is no agreement on the mechanism under which this finance should be mobilised, these varying views were further explored by the panelists.

Richard J.T. Klein, Director of Science and Innovation at the Global Center of Adaptation and Senior Research Fellow at the Stockholm Environment Institute delivered the keynote address. Klein affirmed the need for financial support for developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to climate impacts in order to address loss and damage, and emphasised that he does not believe that a separate financial mechanism on loss and damage is necessary. “What I think is a more fruitful and more pragmatic way to increase funding available for loss and damage is to keep pushing the need to upscale adaptation finance in the broadest sense,” he said.

Sabine Minninger, Climate Change Policy Advisor from Bread for the World shared a different view, “we need a standalone fund for loss and damage because it is not adaptation, and it cannot be funded by the already limited funds that are available for adaptation.” Minninger expressed that finance for loss and damage should be additional to what is already available for adaptation, mitigation and humanitarian response.

“Adaptation is four times cheaper than loss and damage. Developing countries will face costs of up to USD 400 billion annually by 2030 which is anticipated to increase to USD 1.6 trillion annually by 2050 if we continue on a 3-degree pathway of global warming,” said Minninger.

Heike Henn, Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (Germany) agreed with Minninger and Klein on the need for climate finance and added that the impacts of climate change also lead to trauma and economic losses and insecurities.

Henn expressed that while finance is important, it is not all that will be needed to address loss and damage. “Finance must come together with capacity building, ownership, political will, strategies, and more to make an impact on the ground.”

While finance for loss and damage is a key area of concern for ACT Alliance and partners around the world, it is also important to strengthen governance on loss and damage in order to tap into the resources of various actors at all levels.

Idil Boran, Associate Professor at York University and Associate Researcher at the German Development Institute identified four elements that would be necessary for effective Loss and Damage governance, noting that it should be:

1. Inclusive and responsive and should recognise loss and damage initiatives taking place at the local level.
2. Catalytic to create an enabling environment for community-based actions to inspire other actors and actions.
3. Collaborative and participatory to encourage interlinkages with various frameworks including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and other Rio Conventions.
4. Transparent so that there is clear data in order to identify gaps that should be responded to.

ACT Alliance will continue to advocate for new and additional finance for loss and damage and for an effective governance system. ACT will also continue to work with its members around the world to respond to the urgent needs of climate-vulnerable communities that are already experiencing losses and damages.