Bonn Climate Conference: More action needed to support climate adaptation as disasters increase

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The current devastating drought in the Horn of Africa, and deadly floods in South Africa and South Asia, show the urgency of delivering on commitments made at last year's COP26 in Glasgow and achieving the Global Goal on Adaptation. At COP26, rich nations agreed to double funding for climate adaptation by 2025, but there has been little progress since then. Islamic Relief is calling on governments to turn promises into concrete pledges and to agree a clear roadmap for achieving the target.

The number of climate-related disasters has tripled in the past 30 years. In the Horn of Africa, an unprecedented four successive failed rainy seasons has plunged the region into the worst drought in decades. The most recent rainy season was the driest on record, and thousands of people have already died -- especially young children and the elderly. People's livelihoods have been destroyed, with millions of livestock dead and crops failing. Meanwhile, South Africa's worst floods this century have killed hundreds of people and millions more have been made homeless by last week's severe floods in Bangladesh and India.

Funding for climate adaptation currently makes up less than 25 per cent of all international climate financing. Islamic Relief is calling for this to at least double to around 50 per cent, in the form of grants not loans. Most climate finance currently comes as loans, further trapping poorer countries in debt.

Jamie Williams, Islamic Relief Senior Policy Advisor, will be attending the Bonn Climate Conference. He says:

"Right now we are seeing severe drought and deadly floods destroy millions of lives around the world. Children are starving because crops have failed and cattle have died.

"We know that that such disasters are going to get even more frequent and severe over the next decade, because of man-made climate change. Yet despite this, only a small proportion of climate finance is invested in helping vulnerable communities to adapt and prepare for the changes that we know will be taking place.

"We urgently need governments to start putting the commitments they made in Glasgow into action. It is quite simply a matter of life and death for millions of people. Rich nations that have benefited from the activities that caused the climate breakdown have a moral responsibility to support poorer communities who suffer its worst impacts.

"Effective adaptation needs local communities to be at the heart of the process. They know best how climate change is affecting their own lives and livelihoods, and what is needed to adapt. The voices of women and youth must have a greater say in decision-making at local and national levels."

Islamic Relief funds more than 50 climate adaptation projects in 19 countries worldwide, helping pastoralist and farming communities adapt to the increasing threat of extreme weather events in countries such as Mali, Pakistan, Ethiopia and Indonesia.

Source: Islamic Relief

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