A NEW REPORT ‘PUTTING OUR MONEY WHERE OUR MOUTH IS- why we need public climate finance’ was released on N
ovember 11th 2024
Picture: Empty livestock pens, livestock and camel carcasses caused by drought – Image: May 2022.
As world leaders meet at COP 29 in Azerbaijan, this latest report by Christian Aid has warned the world leaders they must stop “chasing shadows” with attempts to make up for insufficient and poor-quality public finance with private contributions.
The report shows people living in the 10 countries most affected by climate change between 2000 and 2019 received less than 2% of all climate finance. The 750 million people now living in these countries received on average less than $1 each per year from rich countries.
On Finance Day at COP29 Christian Aid urged governments to pay for public, grant based finance through progressive taxes on major polluters e.g. fossil fuel companies. Read more details here
Read the full report here
Christian Aid Week 2024 – 12-18 May
This year’s appeal is focussed on the CA’s work in Burundi, one of the most densely populated and poorest countries in Africa. Heavily reliant on agriculture, it’s also one of the least prepared to combat the effects of climate change, including droughts, floods and landslides. The global cost of living crisis has intensified the challenges: more than 70 per cent of the population live in poverty and more than half of children are chronically malnourished.
CA has been working in Burundi since 1995 when it first offered humanitarian assistance to people surviving the civil conflict. Now, alongside local partners, CA helps establish community-led groups, which means people can save and borrow money, make small businesses possible, offer reliable and diverse incomes so families can eat regularly, get medicine when they need it, and build safer homes. 
Thirty-five-year-old Aline Nibogora is the chairperson of one such group which supports some 25 families in a remote village, in Makamba Province. Aline escaped an abusive marriage only to find herself on the streets begging for a place to stay. Her life changed when she went to a three-day, CA-funded community workshop. With a small start-up loan, Aline began trading avocados and peanuts locally. She’s now a grocery wholesaler and living on her own plot of land where she’s building a home for her family. In the next five years she hopes to expand, so one day she can buy a mill. This will provide a source of income without the need to transport heavy goods over long distances.
“I don’t want my children to have a painful life like mine, remembering it makes me weep. I could never have dreamed I would one day have a brick house and be a successful businesswoman, able to feed and clothe my children. This is a plan and I will do it; I am a woman who is an achiever.”
A new analysis of the top 20 costliest extreme climate disasters over 2023 has revealed a “global postcode lottery stacked against the poor” where the relative economic impact of disasters varies considerably across countries.
Christian Aid, which published the analysis in their report Counting the Cost 2023: A year of climate breakdown, warns “more climate finance is desperately needed” including investment in early warning and early action.
The top 20 list of the costliest extreme disasters of 2023 across a range of 14 countries shows that some countries – through size, geography, or other factors – are more prone to experience disasters.
Read the synopsis here: https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/48796Download the full report here counting_the_cost_2023
ABOUT CHRISTIAN AID
Christian Aid exists to help create a world where everyone can live a full life, free from poverty. Poverty is an outrage against humanity. It robs people of their dignity and let injustice thrive. But together we have the power to transform lives.
We are a global movement of people, churches and local organisations who passionately champion dignity, equality and justice in countries worldwide. We are the changemakers, the peacemakers, the mighty of heart.
We provide urgent, practical help in times of crisis and beyond. We seek to eradicate extreme poverty by tackling its root causes. Together with people living in poverty, we amplify our voices to speak truth to power and create lasting change. Everyone is equal in the sight of God. For over 70 years, this has inspired us to stand together in solidarity with our global neighbours, of all faiths and none.
BRAZIL : Christian Aid praises police for bringing criminal charges against mining company over Brumadinho dam disaster
Dec 8th, 2021
Picture: Toxic sludge has covered homes, farmland, livestock and people.
Toxic sludge has covered homes, farmland, livestock and people.
Christian Aid has welcomed reports that Brazil’s Federal Police is bringing criminal charges against Vale for environmental crimes for its role in the Brumadinho dam disaster and has called for urgent “justice and compensation.”
The international development charity, which co-authored a report into the incident this year alongside the Movement of People Affected by dams (MAB) as part of a project aimed at ensuring redress for people affected, believes a further 33-45 dams are vulnerable and leaving thousands at risk.
The Brumadinho dam’s collapse on 25 January 2019 released 11.7 million cubic meters of toxic waste and mud, killing 270 people and contaminating the Paraopeba River and nearby water systems and lands. An estimated 944,000 people have had their livelihoods impacted.
Christian Aid is calling for families of the people killed by the Brumadinho dam disaster and people who have been displaced or lost their livelihoods to be fully compensated by Vale and responsible state actors.
The Brazillian Federal Police’s investigation found evidence on the commission of crimes against animal life, flora, water resources, and various crimes of pollution. Federal prosecutors will now evaluate the conclusions and determine whether charges will be brought.
Fionna Smyth, Head of Global Policy and Advocacy for Christian Aid, said: “Families have been torn apart by the Brumadinho disaster and the community remains devastated nearly three years on. Reports that criminal charges are to be brought for environmental crimes against Vale are a positive step but must come with real justice and compensation.
“Nothing short of an independent, thorough and swift criminal investigation into what can only be described as serious human rights violations will do.
“We also need systemic change. No longer should mining companies be left to mark their own homework. With other dams posing a risk, we need an international agreement that places the rights of people before greed.”
Christian Aid’s report, The true cost of mining: Ensuring justice for people and communities affected by the Brumadinho dam disaster – can be found here: www.christianaid.org.uk/sites/default/files/2021-01/Brumadinho%20Report.pdf
Rage and Hope 75 prayers for a better world
Published in March this is a collection of defiant prayers for justice and a better world to commemorate and celebrate 75 years of Christian Aid. Bringing together voices from different contexts and cultures around the world, this is a collection of prayers of lament for he injustices of the world, and prayers of hope for the world we want to see. You can order it from https://spckpublishing.co.uk/rage-and-hope