Concern’s new video brings the stark reality of climate change home to Irish viewers

Irish humanitarian organisation Concern Worldwide is hoping the video will raise public awareness of the extent to which climate change is a key factor in rising hunger levels globally, and raise funds to help Concern’s teams respond on the ground.    

“ From images of food scorching in a hot oven, to meals being washed off the kitchen table by floods and swarms of locusts devouring the contents of a family fridge, this 60-second video aims to highlight the life-threatening impact which climate change is having today on some of the communities we work with, and make it relatable to people in Ireland,” Concern’s Senior Policy Officer Sally Tyldesley said.

“We are trying to drive home the fact that climate change is one of the leading factors behind rising hunger levels in the world, reversing many of the hard earned gains achieved in recent years, and leaving millions hungry,” she  said.

Communities which contributed least to global heating, are currently paying the penalty as the world continues to get warmer, she noted.  “They are experiencing increasingly erratic rainfall in the Horn of Africa resulting in droughts followed by floods, to the cyclones and flooding in southern Asia, and the worst locust infestations in decades triggered by the unseasonal rains.  “The bottom line is that people’s food supplies are being destroyed and their livelihoods and very existence are under threat.”

The World Food Programme estimates that by 2030 122 million more people could face extreme poverty as a result of climate change.

Climate is also a key driver of migration and displacement with 22 million being forced from their homes annually by climate-related disasters.

Unseasonal rainfall has also provided the ideal conditions for massive swarms of locusts to breed and multiply, wreaking  havoc to crops and pasturelands in parts of Africa and Asia.

“Swarms of locusts are sweeping through these region eating everything in sight – leaves, crops and grass,” Ms Tyldesley explained. “A swarm can strip a field in minutes, they can eat the same amount of food as 35,000 people in one day.”

Concern is working with the affected communities. We are providing emergency food for children, and helping  communities  adapt how they live and how they produce food, to mitigate the impact of climate change.

Concern is working with local farmers to introduce and develop  a range of agriculture interventions that sustainably increase  crop and livestock productivity under conditions of climatic variability.    Concern is also working with communities experiencing recurring, destructive flooding to manage these threats.

“We need your help to enable us to continue and expand this life-saving and life-changing work,” Concern’s Donor Acquisition Manager Anika Patel said. ”By donating to Concern, you can help us get emergency food to families whose lands have been ravaged by extreme weather and you can help us to work with communities to build their resilience to the devastating effects of climate change.”

To watch the video click here

For more information about how to help Concern’s work visit https://www.concern.net/donate/food-thought

For media queries contact Eamon Timmins, Media Relations Manager, Concern Worldwide, at eamon.timmins@concern.net or 087 9880524