Why a climate change theme? Why now?
“In short, our world needs climate action on all fronts – everything, everywhere, all at once” António Gutterres, UN Secretary-General, 20 March 2023
Whatever your foundation’s charitable mission and field of expertise, there is a part to play in addressing the causes of climate change and supporting adaptation to its effects.
The impacts of climate change are already shaping the world in which trusts and foundations are operating, the communities and sectors they are seeking to support, and the change they are intent on creating.
Recent climate science reveals the urgent need for immediate action and ACF believes that foundations have a vital role to play.
The UK is experiencing significant weather events, including less frost and snow and record temperatures. Climate change intersects with numerous societal issues, including economic inequality, public health, and social justice. As organisations that often have the independence, resources and capacity to act, foundations are well-placed to contribute towards the changes, individual and collective, that we will all need to make.
ACF members have identified climate change as a top challenge, affecting operational environments and the communities they support. The ACF leaders forum aims to address interconnected challenges, leveraging the resources and influence of foundations across the UK. By providing the space to have meaningful action orientated discussions, the forum will support members to explore the collective responsibility of foundations, the barriers they are facing and the potential positive impact of their actions on the climate and nature emergency.
My organisation is not an environmental funder – is this event for me?
Yes! Whatever your foundation’s charitable mission and field of expertise, there is a part to play in addressing the causes of climate change and supporting adaptation to its effects. The climate crisis needs urgent attention from all parts of society, including foundations. We want to support our members to rise to this challenge.
By
hitting the poorest hardest, climate change risks both increasing existing economic inequalities and causing people to fall into poverty. Climate change is also
impacting health in a variety of ways, threatening the essential ingredients of good health – clean air, safe drinking water, nutritious food supply and safe shelter – it has the potential to undermine decades of progress in global health. Climate change is also a mental health issue, an educational issue, an economic issue, a cultural issue, a scientific issue, a research issue, a security issue and a local community issue, as well as an environmental issue.
ACF knows that our members are balancing a huge range of demands, so on the day we will explore collectively how action on the climate and nature emergency can concurrently address other areas of concern for foundations, including the cost-of-living crisis, rising demand and issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.
How will this event explore the cost of living crisis?
The food we eat, the homes we live in, the transport we rely on, the jobs on offer to us and the communities that sustain us are already being shaped by a changing climate.
In 2020 alone, air pollution was linked to nearly 27,000 deaths in the UK, and those living in the most deprived communities were most affected. Additionally:
- Just one in three (33 per cent) of the country’s poorest households are covered by contents insurance – leaving millions vulnerable to high financial costs following floods
- London’s homeless population is at a greater risk of being hospitalised as temperatures rise
- As a result of the surge in energy prices, food bills are up by an average of £605 since 2021 - equivalent to 10 weekly shops per household.
The climate crisis and the cost-of-living crisis are interconnected issues that require comprehensive and coordinated responses. Addressing climate change through mitigation and adaptation measures, as pathways to a green economy, can help alleviate the economic burdens associated with rising living costs and build more resilient communities for the future.
On the day we will explore the interconnected nature of the climate crisis and other areas of concern for foundations, including the cost of living crisis. Looking at how addressing the climate crisis offers opportunities for broader positive change.
Some further reading exploring the linkages between the climate and nature emergency and the cost of living crisis is available below. Any views expressed are of the author or organisation and not ACF.
Article, Financial Times: Floods will add to rising UK home insurance bills
Article, BBC: Cost of living: What do Covid, war and drought have to do with my bills?
Factsheet, Business in the Community: Tackling the cost-of-living crisis through climate action
Blog, Fraser JF Stewart: There is no green agenda
Video: New Economics Foundation: Why the cost-of-living crisis is a climate issue
Guide, Faculty of Public Health: Developing a sustainable and equitable public health response to the cost-of-living-crisis: A thinking guide
Research paper, JRF: Climate Change and the Cost Of Living
Article, The Guardian: The cost-of-living crisis can only be beaten by tackling the climate crisis
Briefing: Zero Carbon Analytics: How climate action can address the cost-of-living crisis
Article, World Economic Forum: We’re on the brink of a ‘polycrisis’ – how worried should we be