Smart solutions

Here’s a list of smart solutions: examples of what we’re doing to help people adapt to climate change, reducing its impact on their lives. None of these on its own is enough. But each one can help people thrive in spite of a changing climate.

• No 1.    You
• No. 2    Raising homes
• No. 3    Faster maturing crops
• No. 4    Weather forecasts
• No. 5    Rainwater harvesting
• No. 6    Camellones
• No. 7    Seed and food storage
• No. 8    Income diversification
• No. 9    Raised wells
• No. 10  Flood shelters
• No. 11  Micro-irrigation
• No. 12  Drought-tolerant seeds
• No. 13  Portable clay stoves
• No. 14  Farmer field schools
• No. 15  Aviation and Maritime Tax
• No. 16  Natural flood barriers
• No. 17  Disaster preparedness training
• No. 18  Roof platforms
• No. 19  Raising latrines
• No. 20  Reforestation
• No. 21  Robin Hood Tax
• No. 22  Floating vegetable gardens

1. You 
When extreme weather means the worst happens to people already struggling to survive, the support of amazing people like you saves lives. Get involved and make a donation.

2. Raising homes
In areas where floods are getting higher, lasting longer and threatening more lives, we’re working with local people to raise homes above the flood level by moving houses onto higher foundations.

3. Faster maturing crops
Speedy seeds that take just 70 days to mature can be used to schedule an extra growing season or make sure crops are grown and harvested before expected droughts or floods.

4. Weather forecasts  
With traditional farming calendars becoming unreliable, we work to ensure communities can access the information they need to stay on top of the weather – radios to access Met office information, and training on how to interpret short- and long-term forecasts and climate change reports.

5. Rainwater harvesting
When rainy seasons are unpredictable and uncertain, every drop of rainwater is precious. Water pans harvest rain for vegetable gardens and to irrigate crops, while rooftop collections go towards household needs.

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6. Camellones
Raised platforms of earth for growing crops, surrounded by water channels – used in Bolivia as a great solution to the seasonal flooding and increasing drought conditions. They mean crops aren’t lost, and as a bonus water and nutrients are captured in the channels, so less watering is needed during the dry season.

7. Seed and food storage
A ridiculously simple solution – waterproof plastic tubs with lids protect seed and food, making it quick and easy to transport if families need to move to safety fast.

8. Flood shelters 
When extreme weather hits, life has to go on. Flood shelters on raised ground provide a safe space for clinics and schools where families and livestock can wait out the worst.

9. Raised wells
When floods hit, contaminated water supplies mean diseases spread – so we’re working with communities to raise wells above flood levels.

10. Income diversification 
Helping people who traditionally make a living off the land explore less climate-dependent ways to supplement their income.

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11. Micro-irrigation
Irrigation systems fed by local rivers and powered by solar pumps bring dwindling harvests back to full productivity again. And that means good food and an improved source of income all year round.

12. Drought-tolerant seeds
We work with local people to identify the ideal crops for the worsening conditions, including less thirsty seeds that take just 70 days to mature.

13. Portable clay stoves 
Lightweight and easy to carry to higher ground during flood alerts, the portable clay stoves used in Bangladesh help families prepare food whatever happens.

14. Farmer field schools 
Knowledge is power. We help farmers understand what climate change means to them and provide a buffer zone for them to take risks and try new farming methods and crops, guaranteeing income or food if their experiments don’t work.

15. Aviation and Maritime Tax
We think it’s only right that international shipping and aviation emissions are subject to a sensible tax – particularly as it could reduce emissions and raise up to $30bn a year. If you agree, ask Chris Huhne, the UK’s climate change secretary, to support it too.

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16. Natural flood barriers 
Frontline protection against floods and storm surges, as nature intended – we work with communities to rehabilitate natural barriers such as mangroves, or plant new grasses and trees that bind the soil and break the water surges.

17. Disaster preparedness training
Swimming lessons, First Aid courses, search and rescue training, evacuation planning... learning lifesaving skills when the going’s good means communities are better equipped to help themselves in harder times.

18. Roof platforms
For families in Vietnam, sometimes it’s good to be left high and dry. Raised platforms in the roofs of homes provide safe storage for dried foods and important documents in the event of a flood, and a safe, dry place for families to wait out the waters.

19. Raising latrines 
Low-level toilet facilities create an unsanitary soup when floods strike, contaminating water sources with severe waterborne diseases like diarrhoea and cholera. Building latrines on higher ground means waste stays where it should when the waters come.

20. Reforestation
Trees are lifesavers. They help to regulate local rainfall, smoothing out the extremes of drought and deluge, and also help prevent floods and landslides by absorbing the waters that would otherwise run off.

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21. Robin Hood Tax
We’re huge supporters of the proposed Robin Hood Tax – a tiny transactional tax on bankers that could free up $400bn globally for adapting to climate change and other good causes. Why not ask Chris Huhne, the UK’s climate change secretary, to support it too?

22. Floating vegetable gardens
Rafts of bamboo, plant-material and dung make a brilliant base for growing fruit and veg. So even during floods, families have food to eat and a means to make a living.

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Oxfam and climate change – FAQ

Poor people are suffering the effects of climate change, here and now. Find out why tackling global warming and climate change is central to Oxfam’s work to fight poverty, and the positive part you can play.

 

• What is climate change?
• Is climate change really happening?
• Why is Oxfam working on climate change?
• When did Oxfam start working on climate change?
• Is climate change already having an impact on Oxfam's work?
• What is Oxfam doing about climate change?
• What does "climate change mitigation"' mean?
• Why do we need to limit global warming to 2°C?
• Shouldn’t we wait until the global financial crisis is resolved?
• Will Oxfam continue to work on climate change?
• Is nuclear power the solution to climate change?
• Do Fairtrade products contribute to emissions because they come from developing countries?
• You have an advert running online that is counting up the people threatened by climate
  change. How did you reach that number?

What is climate change?

Overwhelming scientific evidence shows that there have been changes in the global climate since the early 1900s and that these climate changes, and future climate change predicted over the next century, are largely due to human activities and excessive greenhouse gas emissions, which are warming up the Earth. This is climate change, often referred to as "global warming".

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Is climate change really happening?

Yes. In the last 20 years in particular, there has been an increase in some kinds of extreme weather events, notably erratic rainfall, contributing to floods and droughts, as well as rising sea levels and seasonal unpredictability. The results of these climate changes are failed harvests, disappearing islands, destroyed homes, water scarcity and deepening health crises. And that means millions upon millions of people who were already struggling are finding it even more difficult to get food, water and shelter.

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Why is Oxfam working on climate change?

Because the effects of global climate change are already having a devastating impact on people’s lives. Extreme weather events are destroying homes, schools, crops and animals – the foundations of everyday life. Climate change is also throwing the seasons out of sync, causing crops to fail and water supplies to dry up. Extreme weather is pushing people backwards as they strive for progress. In short, Oxfam works on the causes and effects of climate change because the people we work with are being hit first and worst – and it seems that worse is to come. 

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When did Oxfam start working on climate change?

Oxfam has been concerned about climate change for over 25 years. In 1983, Oxfam produced Weather Alert, a briefing paper that recorded the human impacts of various climate anomalies affecting our programmes around the world. In 1992, Oxfam discussed the special threat that climate change posed to people living in poverty, along with other environmental crises highlighted at the UN World Summit on Sustainable Development in Brazil. For the last ten years Oxfam has been increasing its work around climate change. So much of our work and expertise – for example, responding to and preparing for disasters, or helping farmers get better yields from their crops – is now inextricably linked with the changing climate.

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Is climate change already having an impact on Oxfam’s work?

Yes. Oxfam staff and partners are seeing for themselves how poor people are being hit first and worst by the impacts of climate change, despite them being least responsible. The people we work with are reporting ever-changing and unpredictable weather patterns, contributing to deeper and longer lasting floods in South Asia; irregular rainfall in Mozambique, or hotter temperatures which are melting glaciers in Bolivia and Tajikistan. Because of all this, so much of our work now needs to include the impact of the changing climate.

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What is Oxfam doing about climate change?

We’re already helping people to cope with severe weather events, and also plan for the consequences of future climate change. Like everything that we do, our climate change work focuses on three core areas:

1. Humanitarian
   We are constantly responding to disasters such as our emergency relief efforts after floods in Bangladesh. Climatic hazards like these are expected to increase in frequency over the coming years and decades. What’s more, we’re making sure these communities are better prepared for extreme weather events in the future, too. That means things like raising homes up on stilts, or improving early warning systems for when disasters strike.
   
   
2. Development
   Helping communities to adapt to climate change is a key part of our development work. In Thailand, rice farmers are innovating with on-farm water harvesting systems for irrigation and are diversifying their crops to protect their livelihoods against drought. And in Pakistan, we are supporting farmers to reclaim fields damaged by salt water and helping them to have fresh water for their fields and household use.
   
   
3. Campaigning
   We’re demanding urgent and decisive action on climate change from world leaders that results in a global deal that is just and fair for all people, not just those with power and money.

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What does 'climate change mitigation' mean?

Climate change mitigation means reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Oxfam believes that it is vital that greenhouses gas emissions are cut dramatically – by 80 per cent by 2050 compared to 1990 levels – in order to limit global warming to as far below 2°C as possible.

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Why do we need to limit global warming to 2°C?

The global average temperature has risen almost 0.8°C over pre-industrial levels and is already causing serious climate change impacts for millions of people. If global temperatures rise more than 2°C over pre-industrial levels, the climate impact on water resources, food production, sea levels, and ecosystems is predicted to be catastrophic for billions of people. At that point, scientists believe that climate change would begin to have an overwhelmingly negative impact on societies worldwide and on the ecosystems on which we all depend, with a heightened risk of extreme climatic events resulting in extreme droughts, floods and heat waves.

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Shouldn’t we wait until the global financial crisis is resolved?

The battle to halt the current financial crisis is not separate to the fight against climate change. A new, green economy can create jobs while reducing carbon emissions. It does mean making tough decisions, but that is part of the deal already in this economic climate. The two must go together.

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Will Oxfam continue to work on climate change?

Absolutely. This is a long-term issue for Oxfam and ultimately the number one threat to overcoming poverty and suffering.

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Is nuclear power the solution to climate change?

In general, we believe energy solutions must:

1. Be consistent with an urgent and radical shift to a low carbon future consistent with what action on climate change requires;
   
   
2. Contribute to delivering modern energy services to the billions of people around the world who do not currently have access to them; and,
   
   
3. Be cost-effective under conditions that ensure the above.
   
   

On all three counts, nuclear power is not one of these. Nuclear energy generation cannot currently be installed fast enough over the next 10–15 years, when low carbon alternatives are required. Quite apart from the problems of nuclear waste and security risks, nuclear energy is also a very expensive form of energy that is not without its own carbon footprint.

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Do Fairtrade products contribute to emissions because they come from developing countries?

Yes, but it is miniscule. For a start, only a tiny proportion of Fairtrade goods are transported by air. The vast majority are shipped, which has a much lower carbon footprint. Fairtrade also promotes sustainable agricultural practices and encourages farmers to invest in environmental protection programmes too, which reduce emissions at farm level.

Given that Fairtrade products make such an overwhelmingly positive contribution to poor producers' livelihoods and make a negligible contribution to climate change, Oxfam does not believe that the poorest and least responsible people should pay first for the need to lower global CO2 emissions.

The first things we can do are to make the necessary changes to what we do in our homes, how we travel, and how we make governments more responsible in tackling the problem.

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You have an advert running online that is counting up the people threatened by climate change. How did you reach that number?

It is reasonable to assume that hundreds of millions of people are now threatened by additional exposure to climate-related hazards as a result of climate change. While it is difficult to pin down a single aggregate estimate, the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) identification and assessment of key vulnerabilities includes the following estimates for risks this century of our current, business-as-usual trajectory of escalating greenhouse gas emissions :

• Globally, hundreds of millions of people would face reduced water supplies;
• Regionally, hundreds of millions more at risk of water stress (in Africa), and more than a hundred million people at risk of water shortages (in Latin America);
• In Asia alone, about 1 billion people would face risks from reduced agricultural production potential, reduced water supplies or increases in extremes events.

Even more concerning, the IPCC also said that, “On balance, the current generation of aggregate estimates in the literature is more likely than not to understate the actual costs of climate change.” Further, the lack of an adequate political response now means we are on-track for nearly twice as much warming as the models these estimate reflect counted on. The World Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that warming since the 1970s “was already causing over 140,000 excess deaths annually by the year 2004." (WHO factsheet N266, January 2010, Climate Change and Health).

Around the world, Oxfam has seen how the vulnerabilities of poor communities put them especially at risk from climate-related hazards, which are still increasing in intensity and frequency as a result of climate change. In this sense, all of the billion-plus people living in extreme poverty around the world are especially threatened by climate change.

For the purpose of this counter, however, we have limited our definition of ‘people threatened’ to just the number of people actually displaced by sudden-onset climate-related disasters. In 2008, over 20 million people were displaced by these kinds of disasters (Source: ‘Monitoring disaster displacement in the context of climate change’, UNOCHA/IDMC, Sept 2009).

While we can’t be sure all of these people would not have been displaced in a world without climate change, scientists continue to demonstrate how the frequency and intensity of small, and medium-sized, disasters of this kind is growing as a result of climate change, and therefore those people affected are threatened with even greater suffering. (As suggested by John, source to statement by the Royal Society, National Environment Research Council and the Meteorological Office, November 2009, see below#)

Displacement figures provide an indication of numbers of people currently most vulnerable to climate related disasters. It is a conservative estimate. Given the on-going absence of resolute political responses, it is likely that we shall see similar numbers – 20 million people – displaced by sudden onset climate related disasters in 2010, and the threat of displacement is growing because of climate change.

Our counter therefore represents the increasing number of people threatened in the most extreme way by climate change since 1st January 2010. This representative number increases as time progresses.

The representative rate of increase is calculated by dividing the number of seconds in one year (31,536,000) by the number of people threatened (20,000,000) to give a rate of one person every 1.58 seconds. At the point at which the advert went live, midnight 23rd May 2010, the counter was set at 7,835,616 – a representation of the number of people threatened so far in 2010.

* We expect some of the most significant impacts of climate change to occur when natural variability is exacerbated by long-term global warming, so that even small changes in global temperatures can produce damaging local and regional effects. Year on year the evidence is growing that damaging climate and weather events — potentially intensified by global warming — are already happening and beginning to affect society and ecosystems. This includes:

• In the UK, heavier daily rainfall leading to local flooding such as in the summer of 2007;
• Increased risk of summer heat waves such as the summers of 2003 across the UK and Europe;
• Around the world, increasing incidence of extreme weather events with unprecedented levels of damage to society and infrastructure;
• Sea level rises leading to dangerous exposure of populations in, for example, Bangladesh, the Maldives and other island states;
• Persistent droughts, leading to pressures on water and food resources, and the increasing incidence of forest fires in regions where future projections indicate long term reductions in rainfall, such as South West Australia and the Mediterranean.

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*Global warming vs climate change

While the meanings of climate change and global warming are, to all intents and purposes in most cases, interchangeable, Oxfam generally prefers the term ‘climate change’ over global warming. This is because the effects of global warming are not limited to increasing temperatures – they also include sea level rise, acidification of oceans, changes in rainfall patterns and so on. While millions of poor people are experiencing more intense drought, millions more are suffering from other extreme weather and climatic events, such as floods and rising sea levels.

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What Oxfam is doing

Demanding a fair deal

After the failure of the Copenhagen climate summit, a fair deal for the world's poorest people cannot come fast enough. We're keeping up the pressure on rich countries to make vital progress on reducing their carbon emissions and to support the efforts of people living in poverty to protect themselves from the devastating effects of climate change. Together we can get the process back on track this year.

Working with communities

We're also working directly with communities seriously affected by climate change worldwide. Watch the animation opposite to discover some of the innovative ways Oxfam is helping communities. Want to help? Donate now.

For more detailed information, read Oxfam’s climate change FAQs

The human cost

The poorest people hit first and hardest

Climate change is first and foremost a human story. The poorest people in the world are already being hit hard by climate change. Failed harvests. Unprecedented floods. Dried-up water supplies. As a result of climate change, critical weather patterns that used to be reliable are now anything but – with disastrous consequences.