Press release – 12 November
With COP29 underway in Baku (Azerbaijan), the stark reality and severity of the climate crisis is impossible to ignore. This is a critical moment. Every minute, the climate crisis is displacing families, destroying homes, and threatening lives. Bold decisions and swift actions are needed to stem the greatest crisis facing humanity.
Decisions made by people with the most power impact how extreme weather affects people. And whether a disaster follows. That’s why we want to see world leaders invest in preparation, recovery, and rebuilding. If people in charge prepare for extreme weather, they protect people from future disasters. Investing in recovery means communities uprooted have time to recover by the time the next disaster hits. And when people have the support needed to rebuild homes and communities, they can be displaced for less time.
World leaders at COP29 must find ways to protect futures, save lives, and safeguard our planet. The scientific data cannot be ignored. And neither can each of the people behind every statistic. People and our planet must be at the heart of their decision-making.
As extreme weather gets worse, hits the same places more often, and lasts longer more and more people are being displaced. Worldwide displacement has never been higher. People who have contributed the least to the crisis are suffering the most.
At ShelterBox, we are driven by our commitment to supporting people left without shelter after disaster. The disasters we respond to are so often made worse by the climate crisis. We specialise in emergency shelter that supports people affected by extreme weather like storms, flooding, and drought. People facing the immediate and long-term effects of the climate crisis.
Loss and damage
We also want world leaders to address the issue of loss and damage. This is the negative impact climate change has and is having on countries – damage to homes, infrastructure, or the environment. It recognises that some countries are more severely affected by climate change than countries that caused a lot of the pollution and carbon emissions.
Addressing loss and damage is crucial because it acknowledges the responsibility of developed nations for historical emissions and provides support for countries that are disproportionately affected to cope with and recover from these impacts. With recognition of how high carbon emissions from some countries has and is disproportionately affecting others, the impact it is having can start to be addressed.
Recovering nations have been pushing for a funding mechanism to compensate them for loss and damage caused by climate disasters since the first COP. 27 years on – at COP27 – world leaders agreed that a loss and damage fund should be set up. The fund is for recovering countries disproportionately dealing with the effects of climate change. And historic damage and problems caused by countries exploiting others and not doing enough to stop it.
A year on, at COP28 the fund was set up, but the money offered so far by wealthy countries is not enough. Hundreds of billions are needed. It’s crucial, we see wealthy countries do more. Because fairness should be the foundation of our solutions to climate change.
More information can be found here:
COP29: What is it? What can we expect? What does Trump mean for climate action? – BBC Newsround
