At the most recent annual international climate conference in December, governments agreed to some of the strongest-ever global commitments to take action address the climate crisis. The agreement includes commitments to transition away from fossil fuels, triple renewable energy, increase energy efficiency, and end deforestation and land degradation.
The extent to which the international community will live up to this agreement remains to be seen. But one thing is abundantly clear: the sun is setting on the fossil fuel pollution era. What will come next is entirely up to us.
2024 is lining up to be “the year of international climate assistance.”
This year is shaping up to be busy in the climate world. Nations are currently reevaluating the global goal for international climate assistance—funding that developed countries like the United States provide to support developing countries’ transition to clean economies.
With the deadline to complete this reevaluation quickly approaching in November, 2024 is lining up to be “the year of international climate assistance.”
Back in 2009, developed countries established an annual climate assistance goal of $100 billion. This represented a landmark commitment to mobilize support for the countries most directly impacted by the climate crisis.
But 15 years on, it’s clear that the existing $100 billion goal is insufficient to address the cascading impacts of the climate crisis around the globe. The United States will be critical in pushing the international community to scale up its ambition. And we at FCNL have an important role to play in building support for strengthening international climate assistance in Congress.
No corner of the globe, rich or poor, is safe from the impacts of climate change.
No corner of the globe, rich or poor, is safe from the impacts of climate change. Worldwide, climate-induced disasters are surging, driving hunger, poverty, and conflict. Last year, an unrelenting drought in eastern Africa left more than 20 million people facing food insecurity. Catastrophic flooding in Libya killed more than 11,000 people and displaced tens of thousands more. The United States broke the record for the number of billion-dollar disasters in a single calendar year.
In times like these, we are reminded of Psalm 24:1: “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fullness thereof; the world and they that dwell therein.” Building peace and caring for creation are foundational to FCNL. Our network is united in the belief that we are called to act with urgency to respond to this pressing global challenge.
In this critical year, I invite you to lend your voice to help build momentum for increasing international climate assistance. This fossil fuel pollution era is ending, but it is up to us to usher in a new and better world—the world we seek—to replace it.
