![]() Each commitment is accompanied by a short explanatory text. Its seven commitments are intended to guide humanitarian organizations in stepping up and improving their humanitarian action to address the climate and environmental crises and reduce humanitarian needs. The Charter is a short and aspirational text that promotes a transformational change across the humanitarian sector. ![]() It highlights some of the challenges we faced and reports on progress achieved since the Charter was opened for adoption by the humanitarian sector in May 2021. This article outlines the Charter's contents, its inspiration and the process that led to its creation, from the perspective of the present authors, who co-led its development. This recognition triggered the development of the Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organizations (the Charter). This shift was reflective of the progressive recognition that the climate and environment crises are humanitarian crises and that humanitarian organizations have to adapt their responses and ways of working.ĭespite this progress, an overarching, high-level and collective commitment from the humanitarian community to improve its practices and to do more to tackle the climate crisis, and that could more comprehensively capture and reflect progress from across the sector, was still missing. Sound technical guidance on greening operations and on integrating climate risk management into humanitarian programmes was produced. 4ĭuring the same period, several organizations emphasized the importance of addressing the impacts of climate change on humanitarian action in their strategies. Other organizations and networks have developed institutional commitments on this issue: in 2020, InterAction and more than eighty of its members adopted a Climate Compact, ten members of the French Réseau Environnement Humanitaire co-signed a Statement of Commitment on Climate by Humanitarian Organizations, and Médecins Sans Frontières signed its Environmental Pact. In 2019, the United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Refugees appointed a special adviser on climate action. Things have shifted in the last five years beyond the Movement as well. The International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement (the Movement) was an exception to this, notably steered by the Red Cross and Red Crescent Climate Centre, established in 2002 to help the Movement and its partners reduce the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on vulnerable people. Yet, until relatively recently, climate change and environmental degradation have remained peripheral to the humanitarian agenda, were seen largely as development issues and were most often considered through attempts to reduce the environmental impact of humanitarian action. They threaten lives and livelihoods and water and food security, worsen public health, increase displacement, and perpetuate vulnerabilities and inequalities. * Corresponding author: Catherine-Lune Grayson, email: Corresponding author: Amir Khouzam, email: change and environmental degradation have severe humanitarian consequences. Stephanie Julmy is Global Climate and Resilience Lead, International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Geneva, Switzerland Nishanie Jayamaha is Learning and Climate Change Programme Coordinator, International Council of Voluntary Agencies, Geneva, Switzerland. Amir Khouzam is Policy Adviser, International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, Switzerland. * Catherine-Lune Grayson is Head of Policy Team, International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva, Switzerland. In taking stock of progress towards the Charter's goals, the article flags areas where further effort is needed to adequately strengthen the humanitarian response to the climate and environmental crises. The article highlights some of the challenges that we faced and how these were addressed. This paper traces the origins, inspiration and process of the Charter from the perspective of the present authors, who co-led the Charter's development. Two years into its existence, the Charter has helped build momentum towards this change and has provided a useful measurement tool for how much remains to be done. The Charter's development grew out of a sector-wide recognition that humanitarians have a role to play in addressing the crises of climate change and environmental degradation, and that fulfilling this role would entail changing how they work. Since its launch in 2021, the Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organizations (the Charter) has been signed by hundreds of humanitarian actors across the world, including local and national organizations, United Nations agencies, National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and large international NGOs.
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