Climate

Climate hazards –  from extreme heat waves and wildfires, to floods, droughts, and storms – are happening around the world with increasing frequency and intensity. Moreover, climate change is a major driver for conflict and migration. It is inevitable that the rising temperatures and increasingly severe weather conditions will affect the security and  livelihoods of those in already fragile contexts. Humanitarian NGO’s are aware of the large impact of climate change on the nature and execution of humanitarian action. However, for many NGO’s, adapting their practices to this changing reality while at the same time diminishing their own ecological footprint is a challenge.

From a humanitarian perspective, the urgent challenges climate change brings, will impact both what we do and how we organize our work. Climate change requires organizations to think about adaption (how can communities be made more resilient? What kind of disasters should we prepare for?) as well as mitigation (How is our own way of working contributing to climate change? How can we make our programs more environmentally friendly?) Needless to say, a shift in mindset is necessary for humanitarian organizations to adapt to a new reality, in which climate change is a key factor.

KUNO aims to put climate change firmly at the top of the agenda of the Dutch humanitarian sector by inspiring humanitarian practitioners to green their work and showing how this might be done in most practical ways. We strive to connect theory to practice and seek concrete opportunities for humanitarian practitioners to contribute the global climate agenda.