COP28: Keeping it real
By Jaspreet Kindra
Several events marked the first-ever Climate, Relief, Recovery and Peace Day at any COP. Held on Sunday 3 December, the day drew attention to and funding for people in vulnerable and fragile settings, who are also on the front lines of climate emergencies.
It was also the day the OCHA-managed Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) launched its Climate Action Account at COP28’s Humanitarian Hub. The Account serves to scale anticipatory action to minimize impacts before shocks and response to shocks. It enables CERF to help channel climate-related and other financing to the most vulnerable people.
Vasiti Soko, the Director of Fiji’s National Disaster Management Office, made the day and its meaning real when she spoke at the OCHA-managed Hub.
Ms. Soko explained that just two days ago, she received a call from Fiji about torrential rain that had made it impossible for children to reach school to write their final exams. She had to arrange for boats to ferry the children to school.
“That day we risked it all when we put our children with life jackets, their raincoats, while it was still raining over a flooded river, just to take them across to school to write their final exams. That is our reality,” she said.
Ms. Soko was grateful that the CERF-funded anticipatory action project had chosen Fiji as a pilot. She added: “Such a fund will help us to take proactive measures to minimize the impact of (extreme-weather events) on our people.”
At the launch of the Climate Action Account, Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Ireland’s Minister of State at the Department of Finance, pointed out that it could potentially draw new donors and more money to help people.
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The COP28 Declaration on Climate, Relief, Recovery and Peace was formally launched at the Dubai summit. Passed by 70 Governments and 39 international organizations, the document focuses on climate finance along with an initial package of financial, programming and partnership solutions, according to a conference statement.
“The Declaration says all of the right things about closing the climate finance gap for fragile and conflict-affected communities,” said Joyce Msuya, Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, at the launch.
“But the most important thing now is, as articulated by others, to take concrete steps to put these words into action.”
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Earlier that day, OCHA and the International Fund for Agricultural Development organized a side event titled ‘Strengthening Delivery: Aligning development, humanitarian and climate finance.’
Speakers highlighted the need to act locally but think regionally; the need to support country preparedness; leveraging and strengthening investment in agriculture to help countries emerge from fragility; and working with the private sector to help scale action. The World Bank noted that “coordination is key.”