3rd CLIMACT Seminar Series - Episode #16

Throughout its 3rd series of seminars, CLIMACT and its guest speakers explored solutions to transform society to fight climate change, adapt and mitigate further impacts.

The final session will bring us in the field of humanitarian aid of a well-known international organisation. Indeed, CLIMACT is welcoming Kathrine Vad, Environment and Climate Change Adviser at the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The International Committee of the Red Cross provides assistance and protection to people affected by conflict and violence around the world. This means helping people survive in the most dire contexts - providing urgent, life-saving support such as clean water, food, seeds and agricultural tools, health care and so on.

But producing food, medicine and essential household items and shipping them around the world generates greenhouse gas emissions. The plastic we package our life-saving products in soon becomes waste. The offices we occupy to ensure our operations can run consume energy and water.

I will show how the ICRC works to integrate sustainability principles into humanitarian action, whether by adapting our interventions to help people be more resilient to climate change or reducing the environmental footprint of our operations. And also how we engage with the international community to ensure greater consideration for conflict-affected communities.