The paper argues that international action lags far behind the actions needed to tackle climate change. The United Nations climate summit (COP21) in Paris, December 2015, is a critical crossroads. It will be a litmus test of governments’ ability to accelerate global efforts to avert the severest impacts of climate change, to promote equity, and to deliver on the promises of the Global Goals for Sustainable Development.
The paper outlines CARE's demands of governments at COP21:
- Drastically cut emissions from fossil fuels and speed up the transition to renewable energy to keep global warming below 1.5°C.
- Build climate resilience and adaptive capacity of the most vulnerable and marginalised people, and address the loss and damage they are facing.
- Protect the food and nutrition security of the poorest, marginalised and most vulnerable people.
- Massively scale up financial support for poorer countries and communities, and especially for vulnerable and marginalised people.
- Ensure that actions to tackle climate change advance gender equality and human rights.
