Aid group warns climate change could plunge hundreds of millions of people into poverty

Hundreds of millions more people will fall into poverty unless rapid action is taken to prevent a 1.5 degree rise in global temperatures, says Practical Action’s climate change expert Jonathan Casey.

Representatives from the organisation’s UK, Bangladesh and Nepal offices, four in total, will be in attendance at COP 24, discussing why combinations of small, human-scale solutions are crucial for helping people to respond and adapt to the impacts of climate change. For example off grid renewable energy to power access to water for irrigation and drinking, better adapted seed varieties and how these must have wider development co-benefits such as, clean energy access, safe water, nutritious food, etc.

Jonathan Casey, Practical Action’s policy adviser on climate change said: “We need to take urgent action to respond to the impacts of climate change on the world’s poorest people, those least responsible for the problem in the first place. As the recent UN report highlights even at +1.5c there will be significant impacts, which will be felt most by the most vulnerable communities and countries globally.

“We need technologies to avert, minimise and help address the Losses and Damages caused by climate change, helping people to transform their livelihoods as climate change threatens their homes and undermines their existing livelihoods.”

Practical Action will take the opportunity to talk about how our small-scale solutions can help people adapt and overcome the world’s biggest problems and share knowledge generated from our projects highlighting win-wins for climate action and long term development. This includes presenting at a number of official side events in partnership with other civil society members on December 9^th and 14^th - Please see below for details.

For more information, please visit: https://policy.practicalaction.org/COP24.

Practical Action’s participation in COP24

Session information below and full programme here: https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/conferences/katowice-climate-change-conference-december-2018/side-events-and-exhibits-at-cop-24

• Development & Climate Days (D&C Days) event with IIED

Title: How can we ensure local climate action is effectively influencing national and regional policies and decision-making?

Date: 9^th December

Time: 11.30 – 13.00

Location: Hotel Diament Arsenal Palace, Paderewskiego 35, 41-500 Chorzów, Katowice (Room TBC)

This event, led by IIED, will feature Practical Action's support to the Government of Nepal in engaging community groups in the formulation of the country's new National Adaptation Plan. It aims to explore how those working on or supporting local climate action could better target their efforts to create the enabling environment at national and international scales.

• Unravelling the mystery of green & universal energy access

Date: Friday 14^th December

Time: 10:00-11:30

Location: COP/WWF Pavilion (room TBA)

Designing national integrated energy access planning based on the Least Cost of Electricity solution (including off-grid, mini-grids, and grid extension) is vital for ensuring that growth in emerging and developing economies is driven by a low-carbon and people-centred approach; representing a faster, cleaner and a lower-cost solution than through grid extension.

• Financing Loss and Damage in LDCs

Date: Friday, 14^th December 2018

Time: 11:30 – 13:00

Location: Bieszczady

Loss and damage from extreme climate events and slow onset events are already causing huge loss of lives and property. We will look at examples of L&D; the action that least developed countries and communities are taking; and the finance needed. We will consider how to provide finance equitably.

• Renewable Energy Enables Climate Change Adaptation for Smallholder Farmers
• Date: Friday 14^th December
• Time: 12:00-13:00
• Location: UNDESA Pavilion (room TBA)

Exploring the ways in which renewable energy technologies can support effective adaptation measures in drought-affected areas of southern Africa. Includes a focus on Practical Action's "Planting for Progress" project in Zimbabwe and Malawi

Practical Action is proud to be a member of the Zurich Flood Resilience Alliance, which is focussed on finding practical ways to help communities in developed and developing countries strengthen their resilience to flood risk. This multi-sectoral Alliance is now working in its second phase (2018-2023) and was created by Zurich Insurance with funding from the Zurich Z Foundation. As part of the Alliance, Practical Action works with flood-prone communities in Peru, Bangladesh and Nepal. More information here: https://practicalaction.org/global-flood-alliance-programme

Practical Action as part of the Zurich Flood Alliance will also be involved in the following events at the D&C days;

• Can climate insurance address climate risks while adhering to fair and pro-poor principles?
• Date 8^th December 2018
• Time: 11:30 – 13:00
• Develop a climate risk management strategy, based on pro-poor principles, in this highly practical session. Participants will be given an extreme weather event scenario and asked to share their experiences to help build a strategy to be presented alongside the lived experiences of representatives from climate vulnerable communities
• Five years in: what has the Warsaw International Mechanism achieved and, looking ahead, where can we go from here?
• Date 8^th December 2018
• Time: 11:00 – 13:00
• At the 19^th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 19), the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) for Loss and Damage was established. It promotes the implementation of approaches to address loss and damage associated with climate change impacts in a comprehensive, integrated and coherent manner. Five years later… this session will reflect on what the WIM has achieved, based on its mandate and discuss options on how best to go from here to ensure that the needs of those most at-risk are met and addressed.

• Transformative trends: what novel approaches are needed to address climate risks and vulnerability in today’s rapidly urbanising places?
• Date 8^th December 2018
• Time: 11:00 – 13:00
• Urbanisation is one of the most transformative trends of this century. This session will explore the intersection of urbanisation and climate change through discussion of a few of today’s key urban trends as well as examples of ongoing efforts to adapt to climate risks within towns and cities.