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Climate change is the most urgent and characteristic crisis of our time. What is its direct impact on people's lives?
Many countries around the world are already suffering from its consequences.
If climate change affects everyone, everywhere, its impact on vulnerable and poor communities is even more devastating. The climate crisis is also a humanitarian crisis.
Every year, millions of people are forced to flee their homes due to increasing disasters, such as floods, cyclones, droughts and forest fires. In 2020 alone, 30.7 million people were internally displaced due to disasters, which is about 75% of all people believed to have been internally displaced that year. By 2050, the number of people in need of humanitarian aid could rise to more than 200 million each year.
In 2021, the EU has allocated € 150 million to help communities affected by natural disasters meet their urgent needs, such as food aid, health, water, hygiene, shelter and rehabilitation of basic infrastructure. In addition, the EU allocates an average of € 50 million each year to humanitarian funds on an annual basis for targeted disaster preparedness. Climate change is exacerbating existing humanitarian crises and reducing the effectiveness of humanitarian aid operations.
The last two years have shown that countries across Europe are also not immune to climate change. From deadly rains and floods in Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium to forest fires in Greece and Spain, climate change-related disasters are becoming more frequent and devastating around the world.
With its #climateconnect campaign, the EU wants to engage young Europeans in the global dialogue on the effects of climate change on people's lives.
To reveal how climate change affects the lives of young people from vulnerable and disaster-prone communities, #climateconnect presents the personal stories of Karen from the Dominican Republic, as well as Britta and Jacqueline from Zimbabwe. In both countries, the EU is currently providing direct assistance to support disaster preparedness, as well as educational programs aimed at improving the response of local communities to extreme weather events.
The Dominican Republic - like many other small island nations around the world - faces recurring challenges related to extreme weather events. From rising sea levels to growing hurricanes, adverse events caused by climate change threaten the survival of entire communities. These challenges add to the existing problems facing local communities, including large numbers of migrants from Haiti and Venezuela who have fled poverty and violence in their home countries and are now at risk of being further excluded from response operations. disasters due to their legal and economic status.
Thanks to EU humanitarian funding, local NGOs can implement specific projects aimed at building the resilience of local communities to extreme weather events and sudden emergencies. Currently, more than 5,000 children aged 5 to 17 are involved in risk reduction and disaster preparedness training. Through them, younger generations of Dominicans learn how to apply a variety of skills, from awareness-raising techniques to evacuation, emergency response training, and first aid training. Educating the younger generations is crucial for bringing knowledge to their households and building sustainability across communities.
In Zimbabwe, rising temperatures and severe weather are more likely to cause droughts in many parts of the country, leading to problems such as internal displacement, food insecurity, water shortages, increased risk of epidemics and social conflicts. This is also the case in the Manicaland region hit by Cyclone Idai in 2018, which was followed by a severe drought in 2019. Here, the European Union is funding projects offering basic education to displaced people and refugees to help them prepare for future natural disasters.
Find out more about the #climateconnect campaign: ec.europa.eu/climate-connect
