Climate change is more than a threat, it’s a reality for millions of the people we work with.

We recognise that climate change is a huge challenge in the fight against poverty. The impacts of climate change are already destroying livelihoods and increasing financial, political, social and environmental inequities.

CARE's response to climate change is rapidly expanding to reflect the severity of the challenge. We focus on helping poor and marginalised communities adapt to their already changing climates.

We use innovative approaches to help vulnerable people prepare for disasters and make their livelihoods more resilient. Magalhaes Matsinhe, Programme Coordinator for CARE in Mozambique, explains:

"There are many things we can do to help farmers adapt to the negative impacts of climate change. For instance, CARE is teaching farmers to cover their crops so that more moisture will be retained in the soil and they won't be scorched by the sun. This reduces the crops' need for water, which is important since droughts are lasting longer and longer now."

We empower and promote the rights of vulnerable people to take action on climate change and to build knowledge for the future. To do this we work with governments, the private sector and a wide range of civil society organisations addressing the challenges of climate change.

For example, in Vietnam, the coastal community of Da Loc was heavily damaged by typhoon Damarey in 2005. CARE helped the community extend the mangrove forest on the coast which will serve as a barrier to future typhoon floods. A community group was set up to look after the forest and local people were democratically selected to participate. The villagers had previously had no official rights to the mangrove forest area but, empowered by their experiences, the group negotiated with the authorities and now have a contract with the authorities to lease the land.

Please donate now to support CARE's work on climate change.