Presentation to the U.K. Royal Geographic Society, 2007

1. climate change
concerns and roles of
humanitarian/development
International NGOs
Geoffrey Davis, CEO CARE UK
and Charles Ehrhart, CARE
Climate Change Coordinator.
Presentation to the U.K. Royal
Geographic Society, 2007
Friday, January 28, 2011 1

2. CARE works to reduce poverty, reduce inequity and fight for justice.
Efforts to mitigate climate
change are important to us
because poor communities -
and especially people in
marginalized social groups - will
only be able to adapt if our
climate doesn’t change too
much and if it doesn’t happen
too fast...
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Comment: So, we have a major interest - and stake - in negotiations about how to mitigate climate change (cc).

3. CARE is concerned about the
consequences of climate change
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Comment: For many years, people in the poor communities we serve have been telling us that the climate is changing... and
they have been telling us about the consequences. These consequences are the focus of our concern.
Examples include:

4. Climate change is causing:
• More people to suffer from hunger
• More people to live without adequate water
• An increase in the threats to people’s
health ... and robbing them of resources to
prevent and/or treat ill-health
• A decline in the productivity of NR-based
livelihoods
• A decline in the range of poor people’s
livelihood opportunities
• An increase in the frequency & intensity of
natural resource conflicts
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[Slide]
Comment: This lengthy, but only partial, list brings me to my first major point...

5. Climate change goes to the heart of our
core concerns about food security,
water, public health, economic
opportunities, peace, conflict and
displacement… as well as biodiversity
and ecosystem services.
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Comment: Many people think about cc as “environmental issue” in the sense of it being narrowly about drowned polar bears
and disappearing butterflies. So, they wonder why humanitarian/development NGOs care. The answer is that it is not an
“environmental issue” in this sense. Indeed, cc goes to the heart…

6. Consequences for women
• Women’s economic insecurity increases more
than men’s
• Gender barriers create obstacle to adaptation
• Climate change can lead to a sustained increase in
women’s workload (e.g. due to male migration,
reduced access to resources, more time spent
travelling to collect water and search for
fuelwood).
• Girl children are the first ones to be pulled out of
school when livelihoods become stressed
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The adverse effects of cc fall disproportionately on women and other less powerful social groups. This is because vulnerability
to cc largely depends on access to, and control over, financial, physical, natural, human and social capital.
This brings me to my second major point...

7. We are concerned about climate
change because it effects different
social groups differently ... and can
worsen inequity between them.
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8. per capita CO2 emissions, by region
Gross disparities
=
Clear responsibilities
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These figures of per capita CO2 emissions by region are from 2003. As such, they are dated. However, the picture they paint
of gross disparities remains. The simple truth is that the crisis we face was primarily caused by energy and other consumption
patterns in North America and Western Europe over the last 100+ years.

9. We are concerned about the justice of
national and international responses to
our world’s climate crisis.
Friday, January 28, 2011 9

10. Just responsibilities
• Everyone needs to take dramatic steps
to mitigate climate change - not just
those who have contributed most to the
problem
• But those countries that have grown
rich through a process of polluting our
planet’s atmosphere should shoulder
the costs of their own adaptation and
that of others who can’t afford it
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11. What roles can humanitarian
and development NGOs play
in a global response to
climate change?
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Preceding slides beg the question, “What can humanitarian and development INGOs contribute to addressing the challenge of
cc?” The answer is. “A lot.”
We have many unique skills, experiences and relationships. Some of the most important roles for us to play - roles where we
have a clear comparative advantage - include:

12. Innovating and demonstrating
• Ways to reduce vulnerability to
chronic conditions (e.g. less
predictable seasons) and
catastrophic events (e.g. floods)
in poor communities
• Ways to “climate proof”
development interventions
• Ways to integrate climate change
considerations into strategic
planning (e.g. scenario-based
disaster preparedness planning)
• Approaches to “intelligent disaster
recovery”
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The photo at top, right is of a “floating garden” from a CARE project in Gaibandha District, Bangladesh. Much of the land in the
floods during the monsoon season, making it impossible to grow crops. Floating gardens, which are built using water
hyacinths, allow farmers to grow food on flooded land.

13. Innovating and demonstrating
Ways to de-carbonise development
Ways to make carbon markets work for poor people, especially
through “multiple-benefit” projects that reduce GHG emissions or
sequester CO2 whilst at the same time:
• Conserving or restoring forest
ecosystems
• Safeguarding or augmenting
the productivity of farm fields
• Reducing the risk of disasters • Diversifying
incomes through the
growth of non-
timber forest
products
• Reducing the amount of time
that women and children
must invest in firewood
collection
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14. Advocating
INGOs are advocating - and empowering
others to advocate on their own behalf - for
just, effective policies to mitigate climate
change and support poor communities’
adaptation efforts.
INGOs bring experiences to the table that
can infuse policy debates with:
•Expert knowledge about priority needs
•Realism
•A sense of moral urgency
•Crucial feedback on what is working... and
what is failing to meet the needs of
especially vulnerable social groups
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The legitimacy of INGOs to engage in public policy debates stems from a range of sources.
In the case of CARE and other field-based organizations, it largely rests on our experience
working at the grass-roots for more than sixty years.

15. Emergency response
CARE and other INGOs currently provide emergency relief
to more than ____ people worldwide. As such, we are an
indispensable part of the global humanitarian response
network.
It is likely that our emergency response activities will
increase as a result of climate change.
CARE, for example, responded to a record- shattering six
cyclones in Madagascar this year.
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Climate change is already swelling the ranks of refugees and displaced persons. We don’t know how high their numbers will
go. Some estimate 200 million by 2050 (________) whilst others suggest this could be as high as 1 billion by _____ (Christian
Aid)

16. Text
Text
For more information about CARE’s work on climate
change, contact CARE International’s Climate Change
Te Coordinator at: charlesehrhart@gmail.com Te
Text
Text
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