A) Objectives of the pledge:
This pledge relates to the International Conference theme “Shifting vulnerabilities – Humanitarian Consequences of Climate Change”.
Climate change is a humanitarian emergency with devastating impacts worldwide, and it is only expected to get worse. Communities at risk around the globe have already been confronted with a sharp increase in weather-related disasters and extreme weather events, and there is an urgent need to better manage the rising risks through such measures as expansion of early warning by scaling up access to predictable financing for early action.
Traditionally, funding for humanitarian actions has been provided after the disaster has hit increasing human and material costs. It is widely recognized, that many humanitarian actions could be implemented earlier in the window between a forecast and a disaster, thereby reducing the scale of suffering and save more lives and assets. Although, there is a growing understanding of the importance of preparedness measures, common practice is still very much focused on response rather than preparedness.
Building on experiences from existing joint pilot initiatives, the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Danish Red Cross aim to support the development of a more innovative approach when preparing for weather extremes, to the extent possible in collaboration with other Danish and international partners. In this, there is a particular wish to contribute to a transition of the traditional way of responding to disasters. This new way of working uses forecasts to provide earlier support to at-risk communities before a disaster occurs, widely recognized as Forecast based Action.
The time frame of this pledge is 2019-2023.
B) Action plan:
To ensure humanitarian action is increasingly climate-smart the signing partners will investigate opportunities to strengthen the capacity, planning and financing for forecast based action through the following actions
- Continue to work towards integration of forecast based action triggers in humanitarian response modalities, aiming to release more humanitarian funding based on forecasts in relation to e.g. cyclones, flooding, or droughts.
- Work to increase advocacy for forecast-based action based on documentation that the impact of climate related disaster is reduced through anticipatory, well-targeted life – and cost-efficient actions.
C) Indicators for measuring progress:
- % of acute humanitarian interventions that undertake early action based on forecast based triggers.
- Events, meetings and seminars where promotion of FbA has been a key agenda item.
D) Resource implications:
There may be some cost implications of joint events, meetings or seminars.
33IC-specific-pledge_MFA-DRC_Climate_FbA-MFA_DRC-FINAL-091219.doc
