| Date: | 01.03.2022 |
| Time: | 12:00 - 13:30 |
| Location: | online |
The debates and practices around climate change as a new normal have the potential to be a game changer for humanitarian action on multiple levels: For the operational and financial challenges of an already overstretched system; for more environmentally friendly modes of intervention; but also for the humanitarian system as a whole, including its norms and mandates and the recurrent overlaps to the development and peace sector.
In this interactive event we engendered a discussion among speakers and the audience on the persisting and intensifying challenges brought about by the negative effects of climate change, carve out the needs for the reform of humanitarian action and the possibilities for a fundamental reorientation of the humanitarian system.
Véronique de Geoffroy shared the expertise and experiences of Groupe URD as a key player for the reduction of the environmental aid footprint. Paul Knox Clarke presented findings from the ADAPT report ‘Climate Change and Humanitarian Action’ he authored and shed light on climate related operational and systemic challenges. Andrea Steinke, Research Fellow, CHA, facilitated the event.
The event was recorded:
This event’s co-host, Groupe URD, is an independent think tank founded in 1993, that specialises in analysing practices and developing policies for the humanitarian sector. Its multi-disciplinary expertise, based on continual field visits to crisis and post-crisis contexts, provides insight into the functioning of the sector as a whole. URD believes in sharing knowledge and collective learning, and helps aid actors to improve the quality of their programmes.
Véronique de Geoffroy is Groupe URD’s executive Director. She oversees the research, evaluation and training team as well as designs and carries out projects herself, particularly concerning the effectiveness of aid and the interaction between actors within the humanitarian system. Since 2012, she has coordinated the INSPIRE Consortium which provides DG ECHO with support in developing and disseminating its humanitarian policies. She participated in the development of the Core Humanitarian Standard (CHS) and is currently member of its Management Group together with Sphere’s and CHS Alliance’s directors. She coordinated the latest ALNAP’s Lessons paper: ‘Adapting Humanitarian Aid to the effects of Climate Change’.
Paul Knox Clarke is a principal of the ADAPT initiative. He has worked in humanitarian action for most of his career. He held a number of positions in country programmes and at HQ for Save the Children (UK) and WFP, and worked as head of research for the ALNAP Humanitarian network, where he was lead author of ‘The State of the Humanitarian System‘ report. Paul is an expert in the dynamics of international organisations and in system and organisational change.
