Latest Food & climate change

Vulnerable communities in The Philippines are struggling to cope with increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather. But, thanks to your support, women like Lilia (pictured) can have an amazing impact.

Like eight in every ten families in The Philippines, Josephine’s has been impacted by natural disaster. After a tornado struck one night her family lost their crops and livestock- everything they were depending on to get through the months ahead. But this wasn’t a one-off event. Josephine lived through three natural disasters in the following five years.

Emissions produced from burning coal for power are the single biggest driver of climate change. And climate change is a major threat in the fight against hunger. If Australia truly wishes to help bring low-cost energy to the world and build a bright economic future for itself, it’s time we stopped exporting dirty coal and promoting it as a false solution to poverty.

Recently NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced 2014 as the hottest year globally since records began. A staggering 14 of the 15 hottest years on record have all occurred since 2000. With 2015 set to be a defining year for international action on climate change, it’s now Australia’s turn to step up.

People often tell us that the bank response to their email about land grabs is confusing and full of jargon. Lately we’ve had a lot of questions about ANZ. Below is a recap of what ANZ has done, and not done, since Oxfam launched its Banking on Shaky Ground report in April.

After two weeks of splitting hairs over key elements of a new climate treaty at the UN climate talks here in Lima, governments failed once again to put the world on a pathway to keep global warming under control. It is sobering to think that this same process of UN climate negotiations started 20 years ago! What will it take for governments to act?

With just two days to go at the UN Climate Conference in Lima and in the biggest march in Peru in the last 20 years — thousands of people took to the streets yesterday to demand action against climate change.

Anariata, 28, lives in Mozambique, where regular drought can mean life-threatening hunger. Despite the dry, desert-like conditions, Anariata has learned how to produce and sell food for improved nutrition and valuable income — and is now teaching others how to do the same.

As representatives from more than 195 governments around the world come together in Lima, Peru this week to work on drafting a global treaty on climate change, they should heed the words of Peruvian farmer Marisa Marcavillaca: “Climate change is not just about the climate, it is about our lives.”

Last weekend activists unveiled a banner at Huaca Pucllana, the site of an ancient pyramid in Lima, Peru ahead of the UN climate conference starting this week. The message to leaders and rich countries like Australia is clear — we must do more.