United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Martin Griffiths’ remarks at the launch of the report, Extreme Heat: Preparing for the Heatwaves of the Future

October 10, 2022 (557 words)

AS DELIVERED

Thank you all for being here and online today for the launch of this important report.

Thank you, Jagan, good to be with you and friends from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Jagan has been the humanitarian leader on the issue of climate so it’s a great privilege to be presenting this alongside you.

Few parts of the world have been untouched by extreme heat this year. We are speaking in Geneva, we know perfectly well, even here. And as the report we are launching today notes, heatwaves account for some of the deadliest disasters on record. And that perhaps, is something we haven’t appreciated.

Let me outline a few key points from this report.

• Devastating droughts like the ones pushing Somalia to the brink of famine are made far deadlier when they combine with extreme heat. We can expect more of these in the future. Indeed, things are only going to get far worse as climate change continues to spiral out of control.

• The combined effects of warming, ageing and urbanization will cause a significant increase in the number of people at risk in developing countries on this phenomenon in the decades to come.

• We are particularly concerned about the impact of these heat emergencies on people in the countries we support together and collectively providing humanitarian assistance and protection– including in Latin America, the Sahel, South and South-West Asia and the Horn of Africa. Because in heatwaves, it is the most vulnerable and marginalized people who will suffer – people who are already suffering from hunger, conflict and poverty.

As the report notes, it is grossly unjust that fragile countries must bear deadly loss and damage from extreme heat, when they are unambiguously, clearly and evidently the least responsible for climate change.

Wealthier countries have the resources to help their people adapt. And they have made promises to do so.

Poorer countries, who are not responsible for these torturous heatwaves, do not have these resources.
As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has made clear, many of these countries will face levels of heat and humidity previously unimaginable.

Climate change will not only widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots, and it will do that - but it will wipe out any development progress achieved with great difficulty and courage by these countries in recent years.

We are already seeing this in action.

What are the implications for humanitarian work?

There are two things I would like to highlight.

First, the humanitarian system is not equipped to handle crises of this scale on our own. We are already short of funds and resources to address some of the worst humanitarian crises this year, including an imminent famine in the Horn of Africa. We already have a $50 billion programme globally for which we have raised about $20 billion. We already are in deficit, now add the cost associated with climate change.

Humanitarian, development and climate actors must join forces to help countries and communities become more resilient. And do so with the solidarity and support of the international community.
To avoid a future of recurrent heat disasters, we need massive and targeted investments, especially for the most vulnerable. We need that now.

Second, we need a paradigm shift. Instead of rushing assistance around the world to respond to heatwaves, we need an international system that works to support and enable a response that is locally owned and driven. And all over the world we are conscious of the threat of heatwaves. We all live through them. We are, perhaps dimly, aware of these threats, but we need to understand more clearly that it is others in the Global South who need our help and solidarity.

And that will require unconditional support from all of us wherever we are.

From rich countries to meet their commitment that they have made to help these communities adapt.
From the aid community to empower local communities and civil society. That’s why it’s a particular privilege to be here with Jagan, representing the largest network of humanitarian workers in the world.
From their neighbours to provide technical skill and expertise.

With COP27 just around the corner, I would like to echo the Secretary-General’s message that the meeting will be “the number one litmus test”, of governments’ intentions on mitigating climate change and supporting fragile countries to adapt. We will all be there, banging the drum in favor of solidarity and justice, because the injustice of what is happening in these countries is clear and evident, and it is an injustice which is happening even in the context of many promises made but as yet not delivered.
COP27 is not the only opportunity we’ll have to say that. we will keep at it especially with our allies in the Red Cross movements, to engender international solidarity in favor of the people who need our help now.

Thank you.