Practical Action recognised as leading example of action against climate change at COP20

For the second year in a row, Practical Action has received a UNFCC Lighthouse Activity Momentum For Change award.

This year, Practical Action and the  Zurich Flood Resilience Program was recognised for a collaborative initiative that will save the lives and livelihoods of poor and vulnerable communities by preventing floods from becoming disasters.

The project has been highlighted as one of twelve projects around the world which demonstrate Climate Change action that is scalable, innovative and replicable and is already happening.  “These activities are assisting communities, cities, businesses, governments and institutions to move towards a low-carbon, highly resilient future." - UNFCCC Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres.

“The 2014 Lighthouse Activities show that action on climate change is not only possible but that it is already happening – injecting confidence into the global movement towards a universal climate change agreement in Paris in 2015.”

Simon Trace, Practical Action’s CEO will receive the award on behalf of the Zurich Flood Resilience Program in COP20 today. He said: “We are thrilled with this recognition. Flooding is the type of recurring natural disaster which causes some of the greatest social and economic burdens, particularly for poor and marginalised communities who often live in the most vulnerable places..

“The Zurich Alliance involves a really interesting cross sector partnership that brings together the skills of the insurance sector, NGOs and academia to develop innovative and effective ways of helping the poor in the developing world reduce their vulnerability to flooding.

“The Alliance’s work, which focusses on projects in Nepal, Peru, Mexico and Indonesia,  starts from the belief that we need to build on existing good local practice but also recognises the potential to learn lessons across continents and countries.”