Inside the Greenhouse is a monthly update on FCNL’s environmental advocacy and the climate crisis.
The U.S. is Taking Action on Extreme Heat
Last month, USAID kicked off a new initiative to spur global action to address extreme heat. In 2023, record-breaking heatwaves resulted in devastating consequences across the world, from Pakistan to Tunisia to Texas. With climate experts forecasting that these extreme heat events will grow more frequent and intense, we need urgent action to protect vulnerable communities worldwide.
Running from March 28-June 2, USAID’s “Global Sprint of Action” seeks to prepare countries for extreme heat and improve their resilience.
Every dollar invested in climate resilience generates $2 to $10 in future benefits.
Partnering with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, USAID is calling on a wide range of global actors to help – from governments to development banks, private funds, civil society organizations, and student and youth groups.
As one of the biggest polluters, the U.S. has a moral responsibility to help developing countries adapt to climate change through foreign aid. Funding climate solutions now is a smart investment. As USAID Chief Climate Officer Gillian Caldwell pointed out, every dollar invested in climate resilience generates $2 to $10 in future benefits.
U.S. Holocaust Museum Warns Climate Change Increases Risks of Future Mass Atrocities
Researchers at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum’s Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide are warning that these climate change impacts could also exacerbate the risks of mass atrocities.
Around the globe, climate impacts are increasingly playing a role in driving conflicts. For example, climate change is reducing water and food access and increasing tensions in places like Sudan and Yemen that are already experiencing violent conflict.
Quaker commitments to stewardship and “taking away the occasion of all wars” teach us that we must lessen suffering and provide the security people need to thrive. FCNL will continue to urge the U.S. government to invest in international climate assistance and peacebuilding efforts to reduce conflict and forced migration.
News and Updates
Biden Administration Approves New Offshore Wind Project
On April 2, The Biden administration approved a new wind project off the coast of Massachusetts. The New England Wind Project will produce enough clean energy to power a million homes and businesses. The total capacity of new offshore wind projects approved by the administration in the last three years will provide power to nearly four million homes.
How International Climate Assistance Intersects With Other Major Issues
Climate change is woven into the fabric of most other global concerns.
We’re happy to share a new resource on FCNL’s website highlighting how the climate crisis intersects with other major global challenges like conflict, hunger, deforestation, and inequality.
By advocating for international climate assistance, we’re not only confronting immediate climate threats. We’re also recognizing that climate change is woven into the fabric of most other global concerns, leading to far-reaching consequences.
Listen to Voices From the Amazon on Climate Change on April 23
Please join our partners on April 23 from 12 to 1 p.m. ET for a conversation with advocates from the Amazon region of Brazil and Peru. Communities in the Amazon are facing devastating consequences from deforestation and climate change. As we move towards next year’s U.N. Climate Change Conference in Belém, Brazil – the first to be held in the Amazon – it is timely to hear inspiring voices from the world’s largest rainforest.
The event is organized by the Maryknoll Office of Global Concerns, Sisters of Mercy, the Pan-Amazonian Ecclesial Network (REPAM), and Network. It will be live-streamed here and you can RSVP here.
What We’re Reading:
- A Just Migration Policy for the Climate Change Future
- As Climate Change Drives Instability, Military Responses Will Only Make Us Less Safe
- Shifting Federal Investments to Address Extreme Heat Through Green and Resilient Infrastructure
- Why Is Environmental and Climate Action So Important to Peacebuilding?
