Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre

The Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre, based in the Netherlands, supports the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement and its partners addressing and "reducing the impacts of climate change and extreme weather events on vulnerable people."¹ The Centre particularly serves developing countries, where there is the greatest need for climate change adaptation and natural disaster mitigation. The Center coordinates it work with the secretariat of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Geneva.²

Background

Climate Centre Logo

Source: Climate CentreAuthor: Climate CentrePermission: Fair Use

The Centre received official status as a foundation in April 2004.³ Their stated strategy is instead of developing stand-alone climate change programs and activities, they want to integrate climate risk management tools into existing programs and activities of the Red Cross/Red Crescent. The Centre's work is comprised of six key areas. The first to is develop communication and raise awareness of the consequences of climate change and opportunities for risk reduction. Second, the Centre seeks to build climate change knowledge and capacity at all levels of the RC/RC. Third is to mobilize both human and financial resources to areas of greatest need. Fourth is to serve as an advocate for RC/RC concerns and proposals in international climate policy. Fifth is to support people with high-quality analyses of knowledge and experiences on climate risk management. Finally, the Centre seeks to use and promote use of climate information to reduce vulnerability to extreme weather events and climate variability.⁴

Programs and work on climate change

Thirty five RC/RC societies participated in the Climate Centre's "Preparedness for climate change" (PFCC) program from 2006-2008. Of the 35, 11 are classified by the UN as small island developing states (SIDS): Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Cook Islands, Guyana, Jamaica, Kiribati, Saint Kitts & Nevis, Seychelles, Solomon Islands, Tonga, and Trinidad & Tobago.⁵ Other SIDS involved with the Climate Centre in some capacity include Samoa, Tuvalu, and the Maldives.⁶

The PFCC is comprised of four steps. First, a workshop is organized to educate regional RC/RC staff members the potential local risks of climate change and how this might affect their programs and mission. The second step provides a Climate Centre staff member to prepare a first analysis of the vulnerability of ongoing programs and to develop a background document about the impacts of climate change in the country. Third, a week-long workshop is held in order to build capacity for climate change resilient programs. Finally, the Centre works to support national RC/RC societies to develop and implement country-specific activities designed to reduce risk to climate change, as well as secure funding.⁷

Small Island Developing States (SIDS) Wiki Project
Small Island Developing States
Click here for the template to begin a new country page
Atlantic and Caribbean	Anguilla; Antigua and Barbuda; Aruba; the Bahamas; Barbados; Belize; British Virgin Islands; Cape Verde; Cuba; Dominica; the Dominican Republic; Grenada; Guinea-Bissau; Guyana; Haiti; Jamaica; Montserrat; Netherlands Antilles; Puerto Rico; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; São Tomé and Principe; Suriname; Trinidad and Tobago; and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Pacific Ocean	American Somoa; Commonwealth of Northern Marianas; Cook Islands; Federated States of Micronesia; Fiji; French Polynesia; Guam; Kiribati; Marshall Islands; Nauru; New Caledonia; Niue; Palau; Papua New Guinea; Samoa; Solomon Islands; Timor-Lesté; Tonga; Tuvalu; and Vanuatu.
Indian Ocean	Bahrain; Comoros; the Maldives; Mauritius; the Seychelles; and Singapore.
Initiatives and Sponsors
Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS); Asian Development Bank (ADB); Barbados Programme of Action (BPoA); Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC); Global Environment Facility (GEF); Global Sustainable Energy Islands Initiative (GSEII); Inter-American Development Bank (IADB); Organization of American States (OAS); Pacific Islands Forum (PIF); Red Cross/Red Crescent Climate Centre (RC/RCCC); Small Island Developing States Network (SIDSNet); South Pacific Regional Environment Program (SPREP); United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO); United States Agency for International Development (USAID); World Bank (WB)
Related Topics
Ocean Acidification