Support Stronger Adaptation Responses to Climate Change
We are all impacted by a changing climate. Climate change has resulted in fewer harvests, loss of livestock, stress on water resources, reduced income, food insecurity, and an increased need to migrate to find employment or flee natural disasters. These changes affect families and communities around the world, especially the most vulnerable, including women and girls.
The impacts of climate change only hit harder in the context of continuing COVID-19, a worsening global food crisis, and growing conflict in already fragile states.
Yet, we see so many seeds of hope with MCC partners around the world responding on the ground, seeking to adapt to climate change through locally-led initiatives. Such initiatives speak into specific contexts, bringing together unique needs and priorities from the ground up.
MCC cares about climate change because we love people and we love God’s good creation. We have the responsibility to care for creation – today and for future generations. As Jesus’ disciples, we are called to live constructively, peacefully and in interdependence with the natural world (Genesis 1:26, Genesis 2:15). We are also called to confess and be renewed when we do not live as faithful caretakers of our Creator’s work, harming the environment or other people (Revelation 11:18).
For Anabaptists, reconciliation is at the center of our work. We join in God’s mission to make all things new – envisioning communities worldwide in right relationship with God, one another, and creation (Col. 1:20; Rev. 21:5).
Calling on our governments to support policies and practices that uphold right relationships is one way that we can work for a better future for all. This includes calling on Canada, as both a wealthy country, and one of the biggest per capita emitters of Greenhouse Gases, to support both climate mitigation and adaptation efforts.
Climate adaptation is about helping communities adjust and adapt to the impacts of climate change now. We recognize and celebrate that Canada committed $5.3 billion in 2021 over 5 years for both mitigation and adaptation. Last year, Canada increased its share of these funds to support climate adaptation from 30% to 40%, which is great. Under the Paris agreement, however, of which Canada is a signatory, countries committed to investing at least 50% of climate financing toward adaptation. We believe this is a very doable task for Canada.
The urgent situation in many communities around the world calls for more action now, especially supporting more locally-led climate adaptation initiatives, designed and run by local partners from the ground up.
Canada has started to support more locally-led initiatives through a program called Partnering for Climate, but this only amounts to about 5% of overall funding for climate change, and we believe we can do a lot more.
Join us by sending a letter to the Ministers of International Development and the Environment and Climate Change. We have provided a draft which you are free to use or adapt as you choose. These asks are also supported by For the Love of Creation (FLC), the Canadian Coalition on Climate Change and Development (C4D), and Canadian Foodgrains Bank, all bodies in which MCC is a member.
What’s next? If you would like to do more advocacy, also check out our letter-writing tool asking for fair responses to climate change from Canada.
Additional resources: MCC Climate Action for Peace Campaign