Our commitment to climate change

Right now, people are feeling the impacts of the changing climate, whether they’re here in the UK or overseas, and humanitarian needs are increasing day by day

 

For people across the world, it’s leaving their home and job behind when a hurricane, flood, or wildfire claims it. It’s skipping meals and going hungry, with droughts leaving farmers’ land thirstier than ever.

And it’s happening on our doorstep, too. For people across the UK, it’s experiencing and watching the news as people’s homes become flooded and worrying about family members coping with more frequent and dangerous heatwaves.

The poorest, most exposed and those in fragile contexts are, and will continue to be, hardest hit unless they are prioritised, especially with the compounding risks from Covid-19, conflict and the effects of climate change.

At the British Red Cross, we’ve been supporting people in crisis for the last 150 years, whoever and wherever they are – including those caught up in climate-related emergencies. And these emergencies are on the rise, getting stronger than ever.

We want every community to be able to prepare for, respond to, and recover from the impacts of the changing climate – but not in five years’, or ten years’, or even fifty years’ time. They need the tools to be able to cope now.

AS THE CLIMATE CHANGES, SO MUST WE.

 

 
We’re helping people get ahead of a disaster, putting life-saving action plans in place before an emergency happens to limit the devastating impact on people’s lives. 

We’re making sure communities are ready with vital training, tools, and skills to futureproof their livelihoods – using innovative farming techniques to grow food in any climate, whether there are flash floods or droughts.  

We’re supporting people to get the healthcare they need before and after disaster strikes, through providing medical equipment and training staff, improving access to clean water, supporting women and girls with care, and giving cash grants to access services. 

We respond to emergencies, supporting people in the aftermath with the things they need most – from providing food and medicine, to lending an ear to someone who’s experienced something traumatic. 

We’re backed by an expert group of climate scientists, who use research and data to make sure the global Red Cross Movement is supporting communities in the best way possible.

Red Cross teams are on the ground, working side by side with communities, listening to what people need right now. While doing so, we are committing to reduce our environmental impact and carbon footprint.

The British Red Cross was one of the first organisations to sign the Climate and Environment Charter launched by the International Federation of Red Cross Red Crescents and the International Committee of the Red Cross, aiming to increase collective action around climate.

As the climate changes, so must we.