Getting started
Experts expect that there will be more frequent and intense weather related disasters, making it harder for poor people to pick up the pieces and stretching the resources of aid agencies further and further. Now is the time to start supporting communities as they being to prepare for the new and increased threats that climate change brings but the question often is: where do we begin?
As risks related to climate change increase so does the urgency of implementing disaster risk reduction approaches we already have. But information about the way risks are rising may need to be factored into our responses, given that some traditional solutions may no longer work.
Our challenge as members of the Red Cross Red Crescent Movement is to integrate available knowledge about climate change into our humanitarian work. This task requires some learning and a lot of new thinking about how it can be integrated into existing programmes.
Over 36 national societies have participated in the Climate Centre’s 'Preparedness for climate change' programme and have learned a lot in asking the question of how to address climate change into their countries. The steps they took and some of their experiences can be found below.
“If we don’t work on these water problems we will become even more vulnerable” Mirna Zelaya, El Salvador Red Cross.
Read more about the 'Preparedness for climate change' programme and the web-based guidance note that provides you with step-by-step suggestions on how to undertake such a programme.
39 National Societies have already embarked on asking what climate change means for them and how they can address it. For a summary of how climate change will affect their programmes and priorities they made to address the issue, including 4 short case study examples click here 
(pdf, 323 kB).
The Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Guide presents five years of experiences from more than thirty national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies, in particular in developing countries. It relates the experiences of Red Cross and Red Crescent staff and volunteers all around the world trying to understand and address the risks of climate change.
Download here the factsheet (pdf, 50 kB) on Getting started.
Related links
Main topics:
Disaster management
Climate change can act as a catalyst for enhanced disaster management.
Health and care
Many national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies will be touched by the health implications of climate change.
Early warning early action
Routinely taking humanitarian action before a disaster or health emergency happens, making full use of scientific information on all timescales.
Advocacy
The Red Cross and Red Crescent never works in isolation. Partnerships are more important than ever in the context of global warming.
Communications
The global climate is changing and the past no longer explains the present.
Community risk reduction
The Red Cross and Red Crescent has traditionally focused on response. But now other aspects, including risk reduction, are also given priority.
Youth
Red Cross Red Crescent youth take action to reduce the impacts of climate change.
Getting started
The Red Cross Red Crescent has a growing body of experience working on addressing climate change. Here’s how to use it to get started.
The Climate Guide contains the experiences of over thirty national Red Cross and Red Crescent societies. Read more.