To save more lives, CERF launched the Climate Action Account at COP28
New climate financing tool launched. Climate change is causing more frequent and severe weather events, significantly escalating global humanitarian needs. OCHA announced the creation of a new CERF Climate Action account at COP28 in Dubai, UAE on Sunday 3 December.
Speaking at the Humanitarian Pavilion on the role of the Central Emergency Response Fund in the climate crisis, ASG Joyce Msuya noted that CERF has led the way in innovative finance solutions to climate-related emergencies. This includes expanding the use of anticipatory action to help communities prepare and get ahead of predictable climate-related emergencies before they strike.
“While there is no humanitarian solution to the climate crisis, humanitarians can continue to play a key role in addressing its consequences by minimizing and addressing loss and damage, and supporting communities to build resilience. Additional finance dedicated to addressing climate-related disasters is urgently, urgently needed,” she warned.
The Central Emergency Response Fund has consistently demonstrated its effectiveness in delivering help where people most need it. Since its inception, CERF has allocated US $2.3 billion to respond to climate disasters worldwide and has disbursed $90 million for anticipatory action support since 2020.
Joined by panellists from Fiji, Pakistan, Ireland, Latvia and the USA, ASG Msuya said, “I want to thank all the CERF donors for their support to its critical work over the years. And, as we launch the Climate Action Account today, I want to thank everyone in advance for their generous pledges.”
CERF’s Climate Action Account offers a quick, efficient and impactful way for climate finance to assist the world’s most vulnerable communities in facing the consequences of the climate emergency. The account enables donors to directly contribute to anticipatory action as well as other humanitarian responses to climate-related disasters, including floods, droughts, storms and extreme heat. Early donors to the new Climate Action account include Ireland, Latvia and Luxembourg.
USG Martin Griffiths thanked donors, tweeting, “Over the past 20 years, we have witnessed an 800% increase in climate-related needs within humanitarian appeals. That is why today, we are launching @UNCERF Climate Action Account. I thank all donors for supporting the most vulnerable people affected by the climate emergency.”
The people most affected are seeing climate change first-hand. “I have lived here all my life and have never seen a drought like the one we are experiencing now. Everything just dried up right in front of our eyes,” says Sahra Abdi, in Somalia.
In Ethiopia, Mohammed’s words echo Sahra’s: “I’ve never seen this kind of drought in my life. I thought it was an old wives’ tale. Now it’s my reality.”
Both Sahra and Mohammed lost all their animals and are among the millions of people affected by the unprecedented drought in the Horn of Africa.
CERF funding for people in the world’s most fragile environments has helped UN agencies deliver sustainable clean water to the camp where Sahra lives; and cash assistance to Mohammed, who was able to open a tea shop.
Across the globe, communities are struggling to respond and mitigate the effects of climate change because of limited financing. ASG Msuya noted that donor “contributions to CERF, will allow the UN and its partners to continue to provide swift relief in response to, or in anticipation of, humanitarian disasters, wherever they strike.”
For more information:
CERF Climate Action Account brochure
CERF Climate Action Account animation
