World Humanitarian Day - Are we up to the challenge?
Oxfam Australia
At Oxfam we believe all lives are equal and no-one should live in poverty.
Putting the needs of climate-vulnerable people front and centre at the UN climate summit (COP26)
Today is World Humanitarian Day and this year’s theme is #TheHumanRace - a global challenge for climate action in solidarity with the people who need it most.
We know that climate change is exacerbating the frequency and intensity of natural hazards. Since 2000, the UN estimates that 1.23 million people have died and 4.2 billion have been affected by droughts, floods and wildfires. In 2021, weather-related events (primarily storms and floods) were responsible for 98% of all disaster displacement, uprooting a staggering 30.7 million people globally.[1] But climate change doesn’t affect us all equally, with a disproportionate impact on people living in poverty.[2]
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group Report is a code red for humanity
The UN Secretary-General called the IPCC report released last week a ‘code red for humanity’. The report stated that human activity is the indisputable cause of accelerated global heating. The link between climate change and extreme weather events is beyond doubt. If the world continues the same fossil-fuelled dependent pathway, we may reach 1.5C global temperature rise earlier than previously expected. We are close to exceeding multiple climate-tipping points, including depletion of the West Antarctic ice sheet and loss of tropical coral reefs. Thankfully, climate scientists note that there is still time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and stay below 1.5C global temperature rise, but we must act quickly. Therefore, it is more important than ever to invest in climate action as well as building disaster preparedness and response capacity of people most exposed to climate-induced emergencies such as in the Pacific region.
Climate action and building disaster resilience in the Pacific
This is exactly what Oxfam is doing in the Pacific through climate action, disaster risk reduction and resilience-building programs. The #ANCP-funded Pacific Climate Change Collaboration Influencing & Learning (PACCCIL) project has facilitated the creation of a network of civil society actors aiming to influence climate change policy and practice across the region. In the Solomon Islands, a Climate Justice Dialogue & Symposium was held in July 2021 bringing together civil society, government, faith leaders and private sector to deliver policy asks and recommendations ahead of COP26 in Glasgow later this year. Priorities included issues of agriculture and food security, covid-19, health and climate change, climate displacement and migration, biodiversity and ecosystem management, climate financing and loss and damage.
Our Australian Humanitarian Partnership-funded #DisasterREADY program in the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu have worked with over 20 communities on the development of community-based disaster risk reduction plans that identify potential risks to lives, livelihoods and shelters and make corresponding mitigation plans. Oxfam and partner teams have led earthquake, tsunami and tropical cyclone simulations, practicing the evacuation and response plans for at-risk communities.
In response to the destruction caused by Tropical Cyclone Harold in Vanuatu in 2020, Oxfam’s cash-based programming team distributed a total of $ 3.20 million AUD in e-vouchers to 4,097 households over 12 months. Not only has this benefited households in need but also the local economy as 90% of the funds have circulated back to the local vendors and merchants. Marie-Celine Kadvil from Narara, Santo Island, told Oxfam that with the 10,000 vatu that she receives each month, Marie buys bags of rice and other food items for her family: “I also buy food items for my neighbour who has been so supportive to us and have taken care of us since the cyclone destroyed our house,” she says. “I have also bought bags of cement; my son and neighbours use them to construct the foundation for our new house. I am planning on using the money I receive in the next few months to purchase timbers for the house.”
Act now to keep 1.5 C alive in the lead up to COP26
#WorldHumanitarianDay 2021 asks us to join #TheHumanRace and stand in solidarity with the worlds most vulnerable people. Oxfam in the Pacific is ensuring the voices of people living on the frontline of climate change are at the centre of discussions in the lead up to COP26. You too can demand Climate Justice by calling on the Australian Government to stop polluting and pay our fair share to fund solutions to the climate crisis. Sign our petition to call on the Prime Minister to reduce emissions and rapidly phase-out of coal and gas from Australia’s energy supply and resume contributions to the Green Climate Fund to support developing nations mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
Written by Anna Pelkonen and Elsa Carnaby for World Humanitarian Day, 19th August 2021
[1] Global Report on Internal Displacement 2021 (16.8.2021) https://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-report-internal-displacement-2021-grid-2021