Afghanistan is ranked the sixth most affected country in the world to climate threats, yet one of the least prepared to deal with the outcomes.

This means Afghan communities will be amongst those most tangibly impacted in the short- and long-term by the outcomes of the 27th annual United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27) being held between the 6th and 18th November 2022 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. For the summit to be successful, the needs of those countries on the frontline of the climate crisis must be prioritised.

Guru Naik Charan, Afghanistan Resilience Consortium Manager and Deputy Director at Afghanaid said:

"It is beyond the capacity of countries like Afghanistan to cope with the impacts of climate change on their own, yet the long-term challenges the climate crisis poses for Afghan communities are life-threatening. The international community must not forget countries like Afghanistan on the frontlines of this crisis. Urgent financing must be mobilised to help countries least capable of adapting to global warming."

Charles Davy, Afghanaid's Managing Director said:

"This year, near-record low precipitation has once again been observed in many parts of Afghanistan, compounding the impacts of an already crippling economic and food security crisis. It is acutely clear that increasingly frequent and severe instances of climate-induced natural disasters and extreme weather are intensifying protracted crises like those in Afghanistan. With ambitious climate action policy at COP27 and funding to back it up, organisations like Afghanaid will be able to support Afghan communities to respond to the critical climate related challenges they are facing right now; without it, desertification will expand, food insecurity will increase, and in a country already in crisis, still more people will be thrown into extreme poverty.”  

With fellow signatories of the Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organizations, Afghanaid calls on the international community to act urgently to address today’s urgent, existential, and accelerating climate crisis:

Read our joint statement in full

Find out more about how Afghanaid helps communities to adapt to climate change: read Taj Muhammad's story, about our work in Chayabak village or watch our film, A Source of Hope.

ENDS

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For more information, please contact:

• Kate Arthur, Head of Communications and Giving [email protected];
• Call +44 (0) 207 916 9883 or email [email protected].

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Notes to editors:

About Afghanaid

Afghanaid is a British humanitarian and development organisation. Since 1983, our dedicated staff have worked with millions of families in some of the poorest and most remote communities in Afghanistan. We build basic services, improve livelihoods, strengthen the rights of women and children, help communities protect against natural disasters and adapt to climate change, and respond to humanitarian emergencies in pursuit of a peaceful and thriving Afghanistan.

Since August 2021, Afghanaid has supported over 1,571,000 men, women, boys and girls across the country with emergency humanitarian assistance to help combat rising insecurity in the wake of the Taliban takeover.

For more information about our work, visit our website www.afghanaid.org.uk, or follow us on Twitter @Afghanaid or find us on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin and TikTok.

About Afghanaid's Climate Adaptation Projects

Afghanaid supports communities in Afghanistan with climate adaptation by working to build local capacity to plan, prepare for, and respond to climate emergencies. In the last three years we have established 71 community-based disaster management committees, working alongside them to build flood retention walls, trenches, plant trees, restore biodiversity and relocated vulnerable livestock. We also support communities by providing training and resources on how to undertake more sustainable, efficient, and productive agricultural practices. Find out more.