Quakers join action for climate loss and damage
'This loss and damage is destroying homes, lands and livelihoods around the world – but there is no international agreement on who should pay for it.
Quakers joined other organisations in launching a new Make Polluters Pay campaign, as part of the first ever international Loss and Damage Awareness Day.
As part of the occasion on 23 September, Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) supported the launch of a new film, This is Loss and Damage – Who Pays? narrated by actor Mark Strong. The film was screened as part of an online event featuring Ugandan climate activist Vanessa Nakate and Caroline Lucas MP.
The term ‘loss and damage’ refers to climate impacts, including floods and sea-level rise, as well as extreme weather events such as hurricanes, which are becoming more frequent and more severe as a result of fossil fuels heating the planet.
BYM said that ‘this loss and damage is destroying homes, lands and livelihoods around the world – but there is no international agreement on who should pay for it. Countries most vulnerable to climate breakdown have identified this as a key priority for the COP26 climate talks in November, but there is little sign of progress from richer countries’.
Olivia Hanks, economics and sustainability programme manager for BYM, said: ‘Loss and damage caused by climate change is rapidly getting worse around the world. It is a moral outrage that the fossil fuel companies which caused this crisis continue to profit from it.
‘Quakers and the other faith groups we are working with in the run-up to COP26 are united in seeing loss and damage finance as an urgent priority.’
David Hillman, the director of the Make Polluters Pay campaign, said: ‘Communities at the sharp end of the climate crisis have been waiting for more than thirty years for rich countries to step up to the mark. They can’t wait any longer. We call on the prime minister to show leadership at COP26 and declare UK support for an International Climate Damages Fund to compensate communities hit by loss and damage. Success or failure of this COP will depend on it.’
The Make Polluters Pay campaign was launched with a declaration signed by more than forty organisations including Christian Aid, the New Economics Foundation and Global Justice Now, as well as the representative body of Quakers in Britain.
As part of Loss and Damage Awareness Day, BYM has worked with partners to produce a guide to taking action. It is also inviting people to sign a petition.
