OTTAWA, 4 March 2020 – CARE Canada today marked International Women’s Day with a call to action in support of women’s and girls’ rights where they are furthest behind: on the front-lines of climate change and humanitarian crises.
“Weather-related hazards like drought and flooding are leaving more people hungry, displacing more people from their homes, and pushing more communities into conflict over scarce natural resources,” said Jessie Thomson CARE Canada’s Vice President of International Programs.
“Women and girls are bearing the brunt of the impacts. They are hardest hit when crops fail and when water is scarce. They are the last to leave their homes when disaster strikes, and the first to start picking up the pieces. They are also leading creative approaches to respond, adapt and recover, often acting as first responders, community organizers and peace-builders.”
CARE’s global #SheLeadsInCrisis advocacy campaign calls on world leaders to increase ambition for tackling the climate-related drivers of humanitarian need, and to put women and girls’ unique needs and priorities at the centre of every response.
The campaign reinforces two key deadlines in 2020. These include wealthy countries’ commitment to jointly mobilize US$100 billion to help developing countries confront the impacts of climate change, and international donors’ commitment to direct at least 25% of their humanitarian funding to local and national responders. #SheLeadsInCrisis calls on Canada to meet its commitments in ways that meet women and girls’ needs and promotes their leadership.
Specifically, Canada should:
- Increase public finance for climate action in developing countries, to meet Canada’s fair share as a proportion of GNI, estimated at $1.8 billion per year (up from its current commitment of $800 per year).
- Commit at least 50% of its international climate finance to adaptation and resilience before a disaster hits (up from 34% currently).
- Dedicate at least 15% of Canada’s international climate finance to projects aimed at engaging local women’s organizations in the design and implementation of climate adaptation and disaster risk reduction strategies.
- Channel 25% of humanitarian funding to local organizations by 2020.
- Commit at least 15% of humanitarian funding to initiatives aimed at supporting women and girls’ organizations on the front lines of crises.
“With just ten years to put climate change in check and meet the Sustainable Development Goals, the world is dangerously off track,” said CARE Canada Policy and Influence Lead Shaughn McArthur. “It is both a humanitarian and economic imperative for countries like Canada to do their part to help people and communities who did the least to cause climate-related disasters, and who have the least resources to recover.”
-30-
CARE has spokespeople available. For media inquiries, please contact:
Lama Alsafimedia@care.ca | 613-228-5641
Background:
A #SheLeadsInCrisis public launch event will be held on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on March 10, after which CARE Canada representatives will discuss the campaign with Parliamentarians in the context of CARE Canada’s ‘Day on the Hill’ event. Throughout the month of March, CARE Canada and our partners will be engaging with Canadians through social media, and encouraging them to sign petition e-2395, calling on the Government of Canada to commit at least 50% of Canada’s public climate finance for developing countries towards adaptation, and at least 15% towards projects that target gender equality as a primary objective.
About CARE Canada
Founded in 1945 with the creation of the CARE Package®, CARE develops solutions alongside women and girls in developing countries to lift themselves, their families, and their communities out of poverty and out of crisis. CARE stands with women and girls around the world in economic empowerment. We bring women, girls, and their communities together to challenge inequality while facing issues like food insecurity, climate change, and emergency relief in times of crisis or disaster. CARE works in 100 countries around the world.
To learn more about CARE Canada, visit www.care.ca