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Climate action urgently needed following UN IPCC report

Press release9 August 2021
Cox's Bazaar is underwater in 2021 after heavy rainfall. Flooding and landslides developed at the Rohingya camp.
Cox's Bazaar is underwater in 2021 after heavy rainfall. Flooding and landslides developed at the Rohingya camp.

Poorer countries are already severely hit by the effects of climate change and need more help from wealthier and higher polluting nations - according to Concern Worldwide in response to a new landmark climate change report published this morning by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The international humanitarian organisation, which works in 23 of the world’s poorest and most vulnerable countries, said communities they work with need financial and other supports to adapt to climate-driven disasters, which are becoming more frequent.

Concern Worldwide is calling for significantly more action and commitments ahead of this autumn’s COP26 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow to ensure that people living in extreme poverty can adapt to worsening droughts, floods and rising sea levels.

“The impacts of climate change are being felt now,” said Concern Worldwide’s Senior Policy Officer, Sally Tyldesley.

“Climate change is a key driver in rising hunger levels globally.

“We have witnessed the impact of climate change on communities already suffering from extreme poverty. Action is urgently needed. We need to see a level of response that reflects the seriousness of the situation that will ultimately affect every country in the world.

“It is grossly unfair that lower-income countries that have contributed the least to carbon emissions are already suffering the worst consequences of climate change.

“High income countries need to deliver on their climate finance commitments and support people whose lives are being destroyed by climate–related crises

“This latest report from the IPCC makes it clearer than ever the impact that we are having on the global climate and the importance of action ahead of COP26 in Glasgow.”

ENDS

For more information or interview requests, please contact Kevin Jenkinson at kevin.jenkinson@concern.net.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.

The new report published this morning can be viewed on the IPCC website: www.ipcc.ch

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