Environment

World Vision and climate change

Poor communities around the world—whether rural farmers, pastoralists in semi-arid regions, or the urban poor in coastal cities—can live or die by the health of their natural environment. Today, climate change threatens the world’s poorest regions with more frequent and damaging storms, erratic rainfall, deadlier cycles of drought and flooding, and other climate-related disasters.

World Vision is committed to holistic and sustainable solutions that empower these vulnerable communities to be agents of change, not victims. We consider climate change to be a critical issue that must be addressed across all of our development and advocacy work. From addressing the causes through to assisting those suffering the effects, World Vision is addressing climate change-exacerbated poverty in many ways.

World Vision’s commitment to assist those living in poverty means we must address climate change and the poverty it causes. From lobbying government on climate change policy to helping those whose lands have been ravaged by environmental extremes: much of World Vision’s work is addressing this crucial issue.

The facts:

Forests are disappearing at unprecedented rates globally, displacing indigenous peoples from their native homes and uprooting their livelihoods.

The collapse of fisheries around the world threatens to exacerbate hunger and poverty among poor coastal communities throughout the developing world.

Currently, more than 1 billion people lack access to safe water and 2.6 billion people lack access to proper sanitation.

Lack of safe water, sanitation, and adequate hygiene contribute to the leading killers of children under 5, including diarrhea, pneumonia, neonatal disorders, and under-nutrition.

More than 1 billion people in the world struggle to find a drop of clean water. In many areas, women and children are forced to travel up to 12 hours a day to gather cooking, cleaning, and drinking water. When it is found, a single sip of contaminated water can bring disease and death, especially for children. Clean water and sanitation have the power to conquer disease, save lives, and transform communities. Access to safe water improves health and nutrition for children and adults. It allows irrigation for crops and sustenance for livestock and it frees communities to invest their time in activities such as education and improving their economic productivity.

What is climate change about?

Climate change isn’t a future threat, it’s happening now. Extreme weather and an increase in natural disasters are jeopardizing the ability of poor communities to grow crops, access water, and house and feed themselves. Nearly every facet of World Vision’s work is being affected by this issue.

In countries all over the world, people living in poverty are already suffering from climate change effects. It is the poor who tend to live in the most vulnerable areas, such as low-lying land prone to flooding, or marginal agricultural land prone to drought. People living in poverty are the most vulnerable to the spread of tropical diseases. They are more likely to have to leave their homes in search of water or to escape flooding. They are most vulnerable to the effects of the conflicts likely to arise from international tensions over water, energy and displaced people.

The poor are the least able to protect themselves and the most likely to suffer from climatic disasters.

Climate change is not simply an environmental problem, but fundamentally a development problem. There is widespread agreement that climate change has been caused by the past development of today’s rich countries. Unless greenhouse gas emissions are cut drastically – mostly in the developed world, but also in those countries in the process of growth and development – the effects of climate change and therefore climate-related poverty will be exacerbated.

Climate change will without question challenge almost every aspect of World Vision’s work and mission in the years to come. As one of the world’s leading non-governmental humanitarian and development organizations, World Vision recognizes that to serve the disadvantaged faithfully, we must take this challenge seriously.

Who is it happening to?

The effects of climate change are being noticed all over the world. But for poor countries and communities, climate change is a reality they don’t have the resources to fight.

Though there is some dispute about the cause of climate change, there is now widespread agreement that the production of greenhouse gases by the industrialized processes of developed countries has been a major contributing factor.

However, many developed countries have succeeded in creating enormous wealth, a wealth that can be used to mitigate some of the effects of climate change. For example, when droughts or floods damage crops in one part of Australia, many people will be able to afford -at least for a short time – to pay extra for crops to be shipped in from elsewhere.

For the poorest of the poor, this option simply may not exist.

Climate change has the very real potential to create mass homelessness, starvation and disease. So, we are working hard to ensure this does not become the new global reality.

Why is climate change happening?

As the climate changes, traditional community activities such as agriculture are threatened and this lead to displacement and poverty. World Vision understands that by identifying the main causes of this phenomenon, we can work to reduce its impacts.

The causes of climate change are increasingly understood to stem from the developed and developing world’s overuse of fossil fuels. The warming of the planet – though it may seem like minor temperature increases – has major effects on climate. Warmer, wetter weather, more severe droughts, more destructive storms and rising sea levels create widespread disruption for people who survive on the land.

This disruption often results in ripples that spread far beyond the site of the initial changes. Displacement, overcrowding, regional disputes and violence, reduced access to fertile land and spreading food insecurity – these are consequences of climate change we can already recognize.

World Vision is committed to lobbying government and other role-players to take urgent and wide-reaching action on reducing carbon emissions.

Where is climate change happening?

We all know by now that climate change is a global phenomenon, with impacts felt around the world. What’s less known is that some of the world’s poorest communities are the ones who face the brunt of climate change. Many of those living in harsh conditions are without the resources to cope with further stress on their environment.

As the climate changes, those communities that rely on primary agriculture production for survival, face increasing hardships. Many areas that were once drought prone are now in perpetual drought. Storms are more severe – often wiping out annual crops. Access to fresh water is severely compromised.

The dramatic consequences of climate change are resulting in entire populations being forced to move. They move in search of other fertile, arable land or in some cases, alternative means of income generation. This can lead to overcrowding – especially in urban areas, conflict and further food and water insecurity.

World Vision is addressing climate change on the ground. Your help means this work can continue; this is vital as the impacts of climate change become more severe and affect more people.