News
Outcomes in Cancun, COP 16
December 13 2010IFRC: Cancun, 11 December 2010
International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Cancun applauds progress; underlines continued urgency to prevent devastating humanitarian consequences of climate change
The delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) leaves Cancun with a deeply felt ambiguity.
“The decisions taken here underpin the significant progress made in addressing the challenges of climate change ”, says Matthias Schmale, IFRC’s Under Secretary General for Operations.
“Decisions on climate adaptation, including the strengthening of disaster risk reduction and early warning systems, are essential to better protect the most vulnerable people and a must for any climate change agreement”, adds Schmale. “Through our network of National Societies and their volunteers, we are increasing our engagement around the world, to further strengthen resilience of affected communities and protect the most vulnerable people from the unavoidable consequences of climate change.
“At the same time, we must recognise that scaling up implementation of adaptation efforts will remain a major challenge in light of increased climate-related disasters. The outcome of COP 16 is not sufficient – including in terms of financial commitments - to mitigate disasters and the suffering of millions of people in the years and decades to come. We call on the global community to scale up disaster risk reduction measures and contribute to mitigating the progession of climate change."
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Main topics:
- Disaster Management
- Health and Care
- Early warning early action
- Advocacy
- Communications
- Community risk reduction
- Youth
- Getting started
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.
Take a look at Red Cross Red Crescent climate change activities on the worldmap
