North American churches mobilize to protect people on the move

A parish group in Pijijiapan, Mexico put their money together to make 1,000 tamales to give to people on the migrant caravan. Churches of all denominations have worked together to provide food and water and accommodation to the migrants along the route. Photo: Sean Hawkey/ACT

During its annual meeting in Milwaukee the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a member of ACT Alliance, voted to become the first sanctuary church in North America.

With this ground-breaking decision, ELCA pledged to provide shelter to undocumented immigrants and protect them from unnecessary jailing and deportation.

Although churches all over the United States stepped up on several occasions to help immigrants targeted by President Trump’s immigration policies, this is the first time that a church has declared itself a sanctuary, openly challenging the Trump government.

In an interview with CNN, Christopher Vergara, who works on immigration issues in the ELCA’s Metro New York Synod, said “Christians have offered sanctuary for 2,000 years, continuing an ancient biblical practice in which cities and houses of worship provided refuge and asylum for people fleeing injustice”.

The Canadian members of ACT Alliance show the same concerns for policies that target the most vulnerable who are fleeing violence and persecution. In a letter sent to President Trump, they expressed solidarity for their sister churches in the United States that are confronting the crisis and pointed out that “Canada and the United States share a long tradition of welcoming men, women and children who are seeking refuge from persecution and conflict. [ …]  Refugee resettlement plays a critical role both in ensuring safety for people fleeing persecution and in advancing religious and political freedom.”

We are facing the worse migration crisis since WWII. War, conflict, persecution and climate change are forcing millions to flee. There are more than 70 million displaced persons worldwide, including more than 25 million refugees, over half of whom are children. While working for the peaceful resolutions of these crisis, we have a moral responsibility to act today and protect those who seek refuge and safety for their families.

The ACT North America Forum has joined with the Central American Forum in creating a regional appeal to support work being done by ACT members through Central America, Mexico, Canada, and the USA.  The purpose of this appeal is to provide a humanitarian component to help meet the needs of people on the move, to promote legislation and policies that are in accordance with states’ human rights obligations and to solicit the support from international community through the pertinent bodies of the United Nations.

 ACT members seek to guarantee the safety and physical integrity of migrants, especially minors, the elderly and women, and to prevent people from being deceived by international criminal organisations engaged in migrant smuggling. Collecting information about rights violations, and providing evidence of CSO activities is crucial for influencing a rights-based implementation of the Global Compacts for Migration and on Refugees in Central America and Mexico.

Click here to support this appeal.

[Youth Day Blog]: Getting involved no matter where you are

A few of the LWF youth delegates at COP23. Photo: Simon Chambers/ACT

Getting involved no matter where you are

Climate change is happening, and we all need to contribute to tackling the problem if we want to limit its impacts. Over the last few years, I have studied on the East coast of the United States and have participated in various platforms where I have met many people who care deeply about the environment and climate change.

Living and studying on the diverse east coast of the US, I had more interfaith interactions than I had ever had in Germany, giving me a real sense of what it means to be part of an interfaith community. I received insights into the climate advocacy work of local faith communities as well as civil society organisations. My classmates and I organised an event on “Interfaith Cooperation on Climate Justice”, where I was excited to explore the topic from a Hindu and a Jewish perspective too and to immerse myself in the scripture.

LWF youth delegates at a strategy session at COP24. Photo: Sean Hawkey/LWF

I was also able to stay involved in various climate talks and to amplify youth voices at the international level. For example, I participated in a High-Level-Meeting at the UN Headquarters on “Climate Change and Sustainable Development for All” and also at the UN climate conference in Katowice in December 2018 (COP24). In these spaces, it has become clear that young voices are starting to be heard and appreciated, and this is a notable achievement of the efforts of many youth around the world.

 

 

The power of social media

The various experiences that I have had have allowed me to connect with many motivated young climate activists. Through social media, we have remained in touch and continue to plan projects and exchange ideas together. I have also noticed the growing movement of school strikes taking place around the world and the demands from youth calling for political change. Seeing the pictures of hundreds and thousands of students taking to the streets gives me hope that the fight against climate change has not yet been lost. Although I often regret not being physically present to support or participate in the strikes, I have been able to contribute by speaking with my congregation on my experiences at COP24 and exploring ways to improve sustainability in our church.

Helena on a panel at the international “Laudato-si” conference. Photo: Helmut Fluhrer

After the year in North America, my studies have brought me to East Africa (Kenya), where I engage with the Catholic Youth Network for Environment Sustainability in Africa (CYNESA), organisers of the 2nd international “Laudato-si” conference with UNEP. This conference brought together hundreds of motived young people (mostly from Africa) who care for the future of our common home. There is hope that change is coming, and while young people care and are taking action to care for our home, a significant change will require all of us to adjust our lifestyles and consumption patterns.

I encourage everyone to engage in climate initiatives, our efforts are indeed making a difference- we are influencing each other, the world and politics at all levels and you too can be part of the change. It is on us to ensure that there will be a present and future for us and for generations to come. Virtual engagements make it possible for us all to be part of a movement even if we are miles away from home.

Get involved – no matter where you are.

_______________________________________________________

Photo: Sean Hawkey

Helena Funk is studying Theology and completing a Master’s degree in African Studies. She has been engaged in climate justice advocacy for many years – on a local level in (Northern) Germany and a global level as a member of the LWF youth and ACT Alliance delegation to COP23 and COP24.

[Blog]: Time for a big transition

Chey Pen, 57, carries rice she has harvested on land she rented from other residents. Life with Dignity and Dan Church Aid, both members of the ACT Alliance, have assisted community members and local authorities in Boeung Pram as they carry out the social land concession. Photo: Paul Jeffrey

For centuries, and especially over the last few decades, landscapes around the world have changed. Deforestation and industrialized agriculture have spread, transforming land use and planning. A new report on Climate Change and Land from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which launched today, stresses that time is ripe for a new transition, but it must happen fast!

Land, the place where we live, work and produce our food is part of the solution but also the problem. It contributes to the solution because trees and soil sequester Carbon Dioxide (CO2), which absorbs some of the CO2 emissions out of the atmosphere. In the coming years, I would like to see trees and forests planted in all countries of the world, as quickly as possible. An example of this is already happening in Ethiopia, where a national campaign encourages its citizens to plant millions of trees. 

The reality is that land is also contributing to the problem. Emissions from agriculture constitute a major part of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and the science to support this is clear. With an increasing global population, sustainable food production is a requirement for slowing down climate change.

But what is sustainable agriculture? Well, there are many different techniques and approaches, and the solutions will differ between regions and countries. As we concern ourselves with emissions from agricultural activities, for example, methane, a strong greenhouse gas, we must also unpack food consumption habits, such as food waste. During the launch of the report, listeners were reminded that both farmers and consumers can contribute to the solutions.

For ACT Alliance, the IPCC chapter on food security is of particular concern. Food security is heavily impacted by increasing temperatures and is projected to affect nutrition, yields and eventually food prices, all which will disproportionately affect the poorest communities around the world.

These projections were further noted by ACT Alliance member Christian Aid in a recent report titled, Hunger Strike: The climate and food vulnerability index. The report finds that some of the countries that are tackling severe issues around food security are also countries with low GHG emissions. This suggests that those who have contributed the least to global warming are experiencing some of the most dangerous effects, and this is unfair.

God gave humans the task to care for creation. Caring for our land is a critical element of this task, and the size of this task is increasing as climate change intensifies. We must act now to make sure that climate change does not reach a point of no return. We should care for creation, and we should do whatever we can to transform our livelihoods so that our planet is more sustainable and resilient for all. We need climate justice!

The IPCC report on land and climate change is available here.

___________________________

Mattias Söderberg, Senior advocacy advisor at DanChurchAid. Co-chair of the ACT Alliance Climate Change Working Group.

“It is no longer a good place to live.” Families relocate after Cyclone Idai

Landslides triggered by Cyclone Idai devastated the village of Ngangu in the mountains of Zimbabwe. ACT member Lutheran Development Services’ local partner has provided food, hygiene, non-food items, and other support to survivors of the cyclone in the district. Photo: Simon Chambers/ACT
 

Cyclone Idai devastated large parts of Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi when it made landfall in March 2019 in the city of Beira, Mozambique.  When the cyclone had passed on, much of Beira was underwater and severely damaged.  While the media continued to show the images of the devastation in Mozambique, Idai continued to track inland, into the mountains of Zimbabwe, where it touched off landslides and caused flooding that killed hundreds of people and affected tens of thousands more.

The district of Chimanimani was one of the worst hit in Zimbabwe.  Located in the mountains an hour’s drive from Mutare, over roads that have had many sections washed away by the landslides.  Red scars mar the surface of the mountains, breaking up the lush green of the forests that blanket their slopes.  These scars were caused by the landslides that tore the ground cover off the mountainsides and brought boulders, mud, and trees crashing down through the forests, communities, and roads below them. 

The village of Ngangu lies right in the path of some of those landslides.  About 50 people died, and scores were injured as the landslides poured through the town overnight. 

Vision Chinamira, 21
21-year-old Vision Chinamira survived the landslides triggered by Cyclone Idai in his village of Ngangu, Zimbabwe thanks to the help of his father, who dug him out of the rubble and debris when water, mud and boulders crashed through his bedroom walls. Photo: Simon Chambers/ACT

Vision Chinamira, 21, has lived his whole life in Ngangu.  He is studying human resources management, and wants to work as an administrator in the mines nearby.  “On the 15th of March, there were heavy winds.  We’ve never had as strong winds since I was born,” he said.  “It rained all day.  The power was out.  We heard a strange whistling sound, and went inside to make dinner.  We were in bed by about 7pm.”

“An hour later, I heard big banging sounds.  All of a sudden, the garden wall around our neighbour’s house burst and all the water and rocks behind it crashed through my bedroom wall, trapping me under mud and rocks.”

“I called for my dad, and he came and pulled me out of the mud, rocks and cement.  We opened the door to our house, and to the right, everything looked the same, but to the left, all the houses were gone.  Three rows of houses- gone.  No foundations, no kitchens- everything was gone.”

Vision and his father went to the Methodist church in the village and spent the night there with others who had fled the landslides.  The rain lasted for three days.  The roads were washed out, so they couldn’t get the injured to the hospital.  The injured and the dead they recovered were all brought to the church.  Some of the injured died of their injuries or the cold before aid could get to them.

Vision joined the teams who went out to find survivors, and it was he who found one of his best friends’ body washed further down the mountain. 

“Those days really affected me,” Vision recalls.  “On the left, I had neighbours, and on the right.  Now there is nothing left.  I don’t feel good.”

Eventually, larger helicopters arrived to evacuate the injured and bring food and other supplies.  He and his father received mielie meal (maize meal), beans, beef, oil, salt and other foodstuffs to help them get through.  But the trauma of the experience was too much for Vision.  “My dad and I moved to another village,” he said. “It’s no longer a good place to live.  Every time I’m in Ngangu, I remember what happened here.”

Mary Chanaiwa (46) and her husband live in Ngangu village in Zimbabwe with their three children, a nephew, and their grandchild. Mary works as an office cleaner for Tsuro Trust, a local partner of ACT member Lutheran Development Services, and volunteers as a village health worker. Photo: Simon Chambers/ACT

Mary Chanaiwa works as a cleaner at the Tsuro Trust, a local partner of ACT member Lutheran Development Services Zimbabwe.  She, too, has lived in Ngangu all of her 46 years.  She lives with her husband, three children, nephew and grandchild.  She described how the storm woke her in the night.  There was no power, but as she walked into the living room she could feel water on her feet.  “I woke my daughter, and we saw water flowing in through the kitchen door and through the house,” she said.

They lost most of their possessions in the flooding, and have had to stay with friends and relatives as they clean what they can of their house. 

Mary is a village health worker, working with pregnant women and young children to ensure that they are healthy and cared for.  She put her training to use in helping to treat the injured after the cyclone.

Mary and her family also received food and clothing to help them recover.  She considers her family lucky- no one died, and they did not lose their house, although the land that their field was on was damaged and they lost their crops.

Mary’s dream is to be able to afford a house somewhere else, so her family can be safe, and she can continue to work with Tsuro Trust.

Lutheran Development Service (LDS) and other ACT members are responding to the humanitarian need in Ngangu and other communities in Zimbabwe that were affected by the landslides and flooding of Cyclone Idai with food, shelter, water and sanitation, psychosocial support, and livelihood recovery work. 

 

[PRESS RELEASE] Activists call for bold action from governments on climate, inequality and freedom of expression, as development goals falter

Activists gathered in New York to #StandTogetherNow and demand that their governments step up action to achieve social, economic and environmental justice
Activists gathered in New York to #StandTogetherNow and demand that their governments step up action to achieve social, economic and environmental justice

NEW YORK, 17 July 2019 – Activists from across the world today declared the Sustainable Development Goals – agreed by the international community in 2015 – under threat, due to inaction on climate change, rising inequality and increasing repression of peaceful civic activism continue to rise.

Meeting alongside the High-Level Political Forum at the United Nations in New York, a broad alliance of civil society organisations came together to demand greater ambition from governments as they plan for key UN Summits in September.

Dozens of organisations have issued a new declaration, “Stand Together Now for a Just, Peaceful and Sustainable World” stating, “We are standing alongside many others around the world in calling out a state of emergency. Humanity cannot afford to wait, people are demanding transformative change, and we are not willing to accept the current lack of action and ambition from many governments.

The joint call to action comes from a vast range of organisations, including those working on fighting inequality, humanitarian assistance, human rights and climate change, such as Action for Sustainable Development, ACT Alliance, ActionAid, Amnesty International, CAN, CIVICUS, CPDE, GCAP, Greenpeace, Oxfam and Restless Development.

Inequality is rising, with the 26 richest billionaires now owning as many assets as the 3.8 billion people who make up the poorest half of the planet’s population. The climate emergency is worsening, with the United Nations saying we could have just 11 years left to limit a climate change catastrophe. A global crackdown on human rights means that only 43 UN member states are currently meeting their commitments to uphold the fundamental civic freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly.

At the same time, the majority of countries that have signed up to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), are not making the progress needed to avert a global break down.

“The drive to reach the SDGs is careening off course,” said Emmanuel Ametepey, from Youth Advocates Ghana. “Just four years ago all UN member states signed-up to a radical new agenda by 2030,” he said.  “Ten years might sound like enough time, but we are already falling badly behind. 

“Young people are ready to take the lead.”

“More people across the world are suffering as a result of the increases in extreme weather events, rising inequality and crackdowns by the government on human rights., Young people are bearing the brunt of it all,” said Catherine Njuguna, ACT Alliance youth ambassador.

Speaking outside the UN, Farah Kabir, Director of ActionAid Bangladesh, said: “People are increasingly frustrated at the slow pace of change. Since 2015 we have seen many countries presenting their progress reports at the UN, but we know change is not being felt on the ground. Inequality is growing, and many organisations and people are being oppressed across the globe.”

“We are announcing a state of emergency for people as well as the planet,” she added.

Global Co-Chair of Global Call to Action against Poverty, Beckie Malay said: “Many national coalitions of civil society actively engage with the UN’s High-Level Political Forum, they provide real evidence and clear recommendations, but in many cases, they don’t see these proposals reflected in government action plans.

“Unfortunately since 2015, it seems that there is regression on the key areas of inequality, rights and climate. We cannot stand by and let this happen; that is why we are standing together in countries around the world over the coming months to demand real action.”

Coordinator of Action for Sustainable Development, Oli Henman said: We have been working together over recent years to ensure that national organisations can be heard by the UN during the Voluntary National Reviews. However, we see real challenges in many countries, including reducing engagement opportunities, limited consultation and in a number of cases increasing attacks against civil society organisations.”

Over the coming month, organisations will be stepping up their joint actions and will stand together in a joint Global Week of Action from 20-27 September, with key mobilisations planned in over 30 countries.

Read the joint declaration in full statement and sign up to show your support here.

 

ENDS

 

For further information, please contact:

Arnold Ambundo, Global Climate Justice Coordinator, ACT Alliance, Arnold.Ambundo@actalliance.org

Joanna Patouris, Climate Communications Officer, ACT Alliance, joanna.patouris@actalliance.org

 

 

NGOs express worry on growing human rights violations on migrants

The UN Human Rights Council is currently in session in Geneva. More than 40 NGO and networks signed a joint statement, delivered on Monday by the International Catholic Migration Commission, to express their worry on the widespread and growing violations of the human rights of migrants and an environment where those who seeks to protect them are increasingly criminalised. 

ACT Alliance signed the statement as a strong signal of its support for the Global Compact of Migration and a call to States to use it as cooperative framework for the implementation of existing legal commitments.

“The Global Compact is here to stay and it is not up for debate.” said Christian Wolff, Programme Manager, Migration and Displacement, “States must uphold the human rights of the migrants by supporting civil society, creating an environment that enables their work and by taking the lead on implementation.”

Find here the FINAL NGO statement 

 

[PRESS RELEASE] SB50: A missed opportunity to protect the most vulnerable from climate-induced loss and damage

 
Ms. Sumaya Ahmed Zakieldeen negotiating on matters of adaptation and loss and damage on behalf of the African Group of Negotiators. Photo: Isaiah Toroitich/ACT

Bonn UN climate talks (SB50) are coming to a close, and some key governments have dismissed the opportunity to commit to action and support that is needed to avert loss and damage to protect the most climate vulnerable communities. 

Government delegations from around the world have spent the past two weeks negotiating the remaining technical features of the Paris Agreement. During this session, it has become clear that the good-will and trust built with the creation of the Paris Agreement is waning, with countries still not able to agree on a few of the key issues that are essential for ensuring climate justice.

“The discussions at SB50 completely undermine the severity that climate change is inflicting on vulnerable communities around the world,” says Mattias Söderberg, head of ACT’s delegation to SB50.

As governments prepare to review the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage (WIM) at the climate summit in Santiago de Chile in December (COP25), one thing must remain vivid – climate-induced loss and damage is real and is already happening. 

“We understand the connection of the negotiations around loss and damage to the realities experienced by people on the ground well enough to know that the protection gap for the most vulnerable is enormous and life-threatening,” says Leia Achampong, Policy Advisor of ACT Alliance.

“SB50 needed to deliver on a robust set of terms of reference for the Review of the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage to enable the WIM to operationalise a finance mechanism that could support to those who are living on the frontlines of catastrophic climate impacts. SB50 did not deliver on this,” continues Achampong.

Cyclones Idai and Kenneth; the prolonged droughts in Eastern Africa and the Horn of Africa; the heatwave in India; the perennial floods in South East Asia; the dramatic loss of the world’s cryosphere; and a myriad of scientific reports persistently confirm that climate-induced loss and damage is a real and present threat to vulnerable communities all around the world.

While parties have difficulties agreeing on how to move forward on the issue of providing support for loss and damage Söderberg reiterates, “the issue of loss and damage is essentially an issue of life or death. It is critical that donor countries urgently mobilise to allocate the resources needed to respond to this issue.”

As humanitarian aid is not nearly enough to tackle loss and damage, financial support to address loss and damage must come in addition to any existing commitments for development and humanitarian aid.

The science from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change confirms the need for action, yet science was another critical topic that parties had difficulties to agree on in Bonn. “It is sad that some countries, for example, Saudi Arabia continue to try to undermine climate science by questioning its role in the climate talks,” concludes Söderberg.

 

For more information contact:

Mattias Söderberg, ACT Alliance Head of Delegation to SB50, msd@dca.dk, +45 29700609

Leia Achampong, ACT Alliance Policy Advisor, leia.achampong@actalliance.eu, +32-2 234 5660

 

[Blog] Reflections on climate change- from the practical to the technical

Jose Samuel Mandova, 76, rode out Cyclone Idai in his house as the roof threatened to blow off, flood waters rose inside, and trees fell outside. The next day, the landscape had changed so much that he got lost trying to find his own house. His visual impairment didn’t help, but the number of fallen trees made it difficult to get anywhere in the community of Inhamizua after Idai struck. ACT member CEDES provided food, water purification, and hygiene items to help Jose’s and 324 other families in the month after the storm. Photo: Simon Chambers/ ACT

Last night, I landed in Beira, in Mozambique.  I am here in solidarity with the people of this city and region who were devastated by Cyclone Idai in March of this year.  Idai was one of two cyclones to wreak havoc on Mozambique in March—storms that were exacerbated by climate change.

When I turned on the news in my room, the headline was about the “climate apartheid,” where the rich will buy their way out of the worst effects of climate change, and the poor will face the brunt of the impact.

I opened the ACT website and read a blog by my friend Håkon Grindheim, written from the Bonn climate talks, reminding us why the technical negotiations are so important.  “We are here because 45 million people are currently affected by severe drought in Eastern and Southern Africa and 40 million are affected by floods in Southeast Asia. We are here because of the aftermath of the wildfires in California and that of Cyclone Idai and Kenneth which ravaged parts of Southern Africa. We are here because of the heatwaves affecting India, and disappearing ice in the Arctic which is melting beneath our feet,” he wrote.

Last week, I posted a story from the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on my Facebook feed highlighting Canadians’ concern about climate change, but their unwillingness to pay a tax of $9/month to combat climate change.

All of this is swirling around in my head as I prepare to visit neighbourhoods here in Beira and communities in the nearby districts of Buzi and Nhamatanda in Sofala province, and to visit Zimbabwe next week to visit sites also affected by Idai. 

Christina Jossias is the local minister in Inhamizua, Mozambique, and was instrumental in supporting vulnerable families during and after Cyclone Idai, working with ACT member CEDES to ensure that 325 vulnerable families received food, water purification and hygiene support in the month after the storm. The church in the community lost its roof and rear wall, so she led the community in worship under a nearby tree on the first Sunday after the devastating storm. Photo: Simon Chambers/ACT

I am thinking about the work that we do as ACT, in communities, working alongside those who are facing the brunt of climate change.  Work on loss and damage, adaptation, and mitigation (all technical terms used in the climate negotiations) is happening within ACT members and the communities they serve, as well as in our advocacy which is tirelessly calling for the needs of the most vulnerable to be met, and for those who have done the most to cause climate change to contribute proportionally to the global response.

My own task is to be something of a bridge between the work I am documenting here in southern Africa and the work ongoing in Bonn, and that will be continued at COP25 in Chile this fall and through the time in between.

My goal at the end of it is that we all, as the human species, as children of God, work together to limit global temperature rise to 1.5C and that through that work we always remember the needs of the most vulnerable first.

Please join me in working towards that goal!

 

Blog by Simon Chambers, Director of Communications for ACT Alliance

Faith-based organisations worried about rule of law in Brazil

ACT Alliance issued a statement expressing concern on the current situation in Brazil, where allegations of collusions were made between the chief prosecutor of the anti-corruption operation so-called “Car Wash” and the judge responsible for the case, the current Minister of Justice.

In this political firestorm the media (ed: The Intercept and Folha de São Paulo) accused the blatant disrespect for the rule of law in the country fueling an already tense a violent climate. In the statement ACT Alliance member organisations denounce a pushback against democracy which has already claimed hundreds of lives: Extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions are increasingly targeting human rights defenders, social and political leaders, indigenous peoples, afro-descendants, women and the LGBTQI+ community.

Already in March, ACT Alliance member organisations raised concerns about the volatile situation of the region and especially that of Brazil, during a conference that gathered together UN and government representatives, media and civil society.

A representative from ACT Alliance member organization said:“The partnership between the Folha de São Paulo and The Intercept is significant. First and foremost, for being credible sources but also for all criminalization that journalists have been subjected to. The accused did not deny the authenticity of the talks but started to question the integrity of the journalists. One week later, the adulteration hypothesis is far from depicting reality as the dubious negotiations between the judge and prosecutor have been confirmed by facts”

In the statement issued today, ACT Alliance welcomes the disclosure by the media of the systematic deceit conducted by public servants in Brazil. The public has the right to know, and civil society has the duty to denounce injustice, holding governments accountable to protect the rule of law and democracy.

ACT Alliance General Secretary, Rudelmar Bueno de Faria said: “The serious allegations and evidence of collusion around the anti-corruption operation “Car Wash” is truly disturbing. Public trust in the judicial system relies on its impartiality: its capacity to uphold the rule of law free from political pressure or bias. When democracy and human rights are under attack, the judicial system is often the last resort for the poor and marginalized to receive justice.  Without that the country is at risk”

Read the full statement here  

Picture: Wikimedia commons

 

[SB50] Blog: We must remember why we are here in Bonn

We must remember why we are here

 Hearing the crowds in the corridors of the UN building in Bonn talk in technical terms, using words like ‘grant equivalent’, ‘IPCC’, ‘response measures’ and ‘market mechanisms’, it can be easy to get lost in the technical talk and forget to discuss the reason behind what brings us all here.

We are in Bonn because there is a growing population of climate-vulnerable people around the world fighting for their survival.

We are here because 45 million people are currently affected by severe drought in Eastern and Southern Africa and 40 million are affected by floods in Southeast Asia. We are here because of the aftermath of the wildfires in California and that of Cyclone Idai and Kenneth which ravaged parts of Southern Africa. We are here because of the heatwaves affecting India, and disappearing ice in the Arctic which is melting beneath our feet.

The solutions to these deadly effects are often technical, thus, talking about the technical terms is important. Loss and damage (which refers to the impacts of climate change, which cannot be adapted to) is a key term which will be discussed during the second week of the climate talks. This term is a sensitive topic for some parties. It is unfair that while the world’s wealthiest countries which have primarily contributed to climate change, it is the poorest that are hardest hit by increased droughts, floods and storms. So the question at play here is who has the responsibility to pay for the losses and damages that developing countries are suffering?  A looming question on this trajectory is who will carry the financial burden should the Maldives, for example, have to relocate all their inhabitants before their islands sink?

Are the polluters really paying? This will be a critical question during the second week in Bonn. We urge all countries to engage in constructive discussions on this matter and to find solutions that will save lives.

As it often goes, solutions require money and this is where parties have difficulties reaching an agreement. It is important that parties agree on a financial flow which does not compete with the money that is channelled to other humanitarian work. Not all humanitarian disasters are directly linked to climate change, and so it is vital that developed countries continue to provide support for them.

Instead, the money should be new and additional, in that it should not be taken from existing humanitarian and development flows. This is especially important when it comes to slow onset disasters, which do not receive much attention. For example, an arid region that is slowly getting drier or an island that is slowly sinking as the sea level rises, both lead to potentially deadly impacts, yet do not receive adequate support.

To answer questions similar to those posed in this piece is one reason why country representatives are in Bonn. It is crucial that parties remember the reasons behind why they are in Bonn and that they ACT on it. The world needs to agree on a way forward for loss and damage finance. People depend on it.

 

SMC- SB50Blog written by Håkon Grindheim, Climate advisor at Norwegian Church Aid.