At the UN climate talks in Antalya, ADRA is calling for fairer access to climate finance and a stronger role for communities in shaping how they adapt.
As COP31 begins in Antalya, Türkiye, ADRA marks five years of engagement in the UN climate negotiations. What began as an effort to bring humanitarian perspectives into international climate policy has grown into a joint effort across the global ADRA network to ensure that international decisions reflect what communities are experiencing and what they need to adapt.
For many of the communities ADRA works alongside, the effects of climate change are already threatening food security, livelihoods and safety. In fragile and conflict-affected settings, those pressures can make it harder for people to recover from one crisis before the next arrives. The people facing these challenges, and the organisations working alongside them, have practical knowledge that should inform both climate policy and how it is put into practice.
What ADRA is calling for at COP31
Protect smallholder farmers and uphold women’s rights. Smallholder farmers need support to protect their livelihoods as growing conditions change. Women must have a meaningful say in decisions about the measures and resources that affect them.
Make climate finance fairer and easier to access. Funding should reach the communities and local organisations that can use it to put their own adaptation plans into practice.
Support communities in fragile and conflict-affected settings. Climate action must account for the challenges people face when climate impacts compound insecurity and disrupt access to essential services.
Connecting science, policy and humanitarian experience
Over the past five years, ADRA has brought policymakers, researchers, humanitarian practitioners and civil society together to discuss how climate policy can respond to realities on the ground. At COP30 in Belém, a conversation with climate scientist Mojib Latif highlighted the importance of connecting scientific evidence, public understanding and policy decisions.
This year is also the first COP at which the lead of ADRA’s global delegation is participating as an EU Climate Pact Ambassador. The role offers another opportunity to connect local experience with European climate policy and international negotiations.
From commitments to action
The German government’s opening press conference underscored the urgency of cutting emissions and accelerating action as climate impacts intensify. For ADRA, a practical question runs through these discussions: what needs to change so that international commitments translate into support communities can access and use?
During COP31, ADRA will contribute to discussions on climate finance, climate justice and locally led adaptation, including a press conference with Aktion Deutschland Hilft on 16 November. These conversations are an opportunity to bring humanitarian experience into the negotiations and build partnerships with others working to put climate commitments into practice.
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