As the summer break gets underway here in the UK, extreme heatwaves and wildfires are overwhelming southern Europe, Asia and America, a signal that the climate crisis is impacting not only the poorest, least-equipped countries, but also wealthier places and people. It’s clear that the climate emergency is deepening, but there’s still so much we can do to turn things around.
Against this backdrop, it’s staggering that the UK Government is falling so far behind in its climate pledges at this crucial juncture. In June, the Climate Change Committee’s Annual Progress Report indicated a lack of resolve and urgency domestically. In early July, a leaked memo to the Guardian suggested the Government could now backtrack on delivering international climate finance, and now, this week, the FCDO’s Annual Report outlines the severity of cuts to the foreign aid budget, to which climate finance should be a complementary, new and additional fund. If these were his A-Level results, Rishi Sunak could be looking at a triple fail come August.
Devastating impacts
For many around the world, the compounding hazards of poverty, conflict, covid and the climate crises have been fatal. In many of the communities Tearfund works with, people have already endured decades of devastating loss of life, livelihoods and infrastructure.
The situation in Rawana, in Marsabit county in northern Kenya, reflects the crisis across East Africa, where 32 million have been in the grip of prolonged drought and hunger due to climate change. The livestock that families depended on have perished, leaving mothers, children and the elderly with few options but to pick sharp stones from the dry ground to sell as ballast at the roadside. All are focused on survival. Tearfund’s church partners support communities with emergency cash to buy food in the harshest seasons, but the sad truth is that the pastoralist way of life in this region is no longer viable.
