New G7 action to protect people from climate disasters – World

A set of support from the UK, Germany and the US will protect lives and tackle the loss and damage caused by climate change

The UK, Germany and the US today announced new action to strengthen the protection of the world’s most vulnerable communities from the impacts of climate change.

Support program, including new funding of £ 120m from the UK and new funding of € 125m from Germany, will help vulnerable people respond more quickly to extreme weather and climate disasters .

Pre-established funding for vulnerable communities will help put in place the systems needed to reach the poorest people quickly, such as payments for crop failure.

This will protect those most at risk and help reduce the loss and damage to communities, infrastructure and livelihoods from climate change. It precedes the UK’s hosting of the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November 2021, which must progress to help poor communities adapt to climate change.

The UK and Germany will also use this money to invest in regional disaster protection programs in Africa, South East Asia, the Caribbean and the Pacific to protect lives and livelihoods. poor and vulnerable people against climate risks. This support contributes to the InsuResilience Global Partnership Vision 2025 and the Risk-Based Early Action Partnership (REAP) – two key global coalitions working to reduce the impact of disasters.

In addition, the United States has confirmed that it will join the United Kingdom, Germany and other G7 countries as a member of the InsuResilience global partnership and REAP.

Together, this joint action represents substantial new support for countries on the front lines of climate change and humanitarian disasters.

The severity and frequency of severe weather events and climate-related natural disasters increase as climate change worsens. Developing countries, women, girls and other often marginalized groups are most affected.

This means that many of the world’s most vulnerable communities are on the front lines. Extreme weather conditions and slow-onset disasters like drought and sea level rise not only threaten lives, but can also cause loss and damage to critical infrastructure, as well as the natural environment. From hurricanes and heavy rains in the Caribbean and the Pacific, to droughts and crop failures in Africa, without action, climate change could push more than 100 million people below the poverty line by 2030.

UK Foreign Affairs and Development Minister Dominic Raab said:

The fight against climate change is one of the greatest threats of our time, because without action, it could push more than 100 million people below the poverty line by 2030. This joint British, American and German action will make it possible to react faster under extreme weather and climate conditions. -related disasters in the countries most affected by climate change.

German Development Minister Gerd Müller said:

Climate change is a reality – and we must not lose sight of this fact, even in these times of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important that the UK Presidency of the G7 has made climate action a central theme of the summit. As those primarily responsible for climate change, we must take responsibility for its consequences. Droughts in Africa, floods in Asia – for the poorest, these climatic disasters often mean the loss of their livelihoods. But less than 5% of damage in these countries is covered by insurance. With our new commitments, we are taking an important step towards insuring, by 2025, 500 million people in developing countries against the damage caused by climate change. This means that emergency programs can provide rapid and targeted assistance to affected people in the event of a disaster.

USAID Administrator Ambassador Samantha Power said:

Investments that help communities adapt and build their resilience to climate change are not just the right thing to do, but the smart thing. Every dollar we invest in adaptation and resilience saves us $ 3 in humanitarian aid in times of crisis.

Nigel Clarke, DPhil, MP, Jamaican Minister of Finance and Civil Service, said:

It is increasingly clear that disaster risk financing is at the heart of fiscal and debt sustainability. The Government of Jamaica therefore welcomes the new G7 commitments in disaster risk financing; this will help build resilience to climate change and its fiscal impact. Jamaica is implementing a tiered strategy of risk transfer instruments. This ex ante budget planning reduces Jamaica’s sovereign risk premium and will provide fiscal resources to help finance the emergency costs associated with natural disasters and other climate shocks.

The new action package was announced following the G7 Leaders’ Summit in Carbis Bay, Cornwall, UK. It builds on commitments made by G7 countries last month to support efforts to respond to the risk of famine and other humanitarian disasters, as well as the growing threat of loss and damage, and to protect people. disaster populations through early warning, better preparedness and response. This is in addition to measures to increase the funding needed to help countries adapt to the impacts of climate change.

More information

• The new support announced today follows commitments by G7 leaders to the $ 100 billion climate finance target, in particular to increase funding for early action and disaster risk management.
• The InsuResilience Global Partnership www.insuresilience.org is a global initiative aimed at increasing the climate resilience of developing countries and protecting the lives and livelihoods of poor and vulnerable people from the impacts of disasters. It brings together more than 100 partners from G20 and V20 countries, civil society, international organizations, the private sector and academia to achieve its Vision 2025, in particular to cover 500 million poor and vulnerable people against climate shocks. and disasters by 2025. Currently, the InsuResilience global partnership is active with 22 programs in around 100 countries. In 2020 alone, InsuResilience was able to protect 137 million poor and vulnerable people from climate and disaster risks. More information can be found at [www.insuresilience-solutions-fund.org/] (https://www.insuresilience-solutions-fund.org/)
• The Risk-Based Early Action Partnership (REAP) was launched at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in September 2019 to bring together stakeholders from the climate, humanitarian and development communities in the goal of protecting 1 billion people from disasters by 2025. More information on REAP targets and members can be found at www.early-action-reap.org

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