Outcomes in Cancun, COP 16

IFRC: Cancun, 11 December 2010

International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in Cancun applauds progress; underlines continued urgency to prevent devastating humanitarian consequences of climate change

The delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) leaves Cancun with a deeply felt ambiguity.

“The  decisions taken here underpin the significant  progress made in addressing the challenges of climate change ”,  says Matthias Schmale, IFRC’s Under Secretary General for Operations.

“Decisions on  climate adaptation, including the strengthening of disaster risk reduction and early warning  systems, are essential to better protect the most vulnerable people and a must for any climate change agreement”, adds Schmale.  “Through our network of National Societies and their volunteers, we are increasing our engagement around the world, to  further strengthen resilience of affected communities and protect the most vulnerable people from the unavoidable consequences  of climate change.

“At the same time, we must recognise that scaling up implementation of adaptation efforts will remain a major challenge in light of increased climate-related disasters. The outcome of COP 16 is not sufficient – including in terms of financial commitments – to mitigate disasters and the suffering of millions of people in the years and decades to come.  We call on the global community to scale up disaster risk reduction measures and contribute to mitigating the progression of climate change.”

For more information or to set up interviews, please contact:

Geneva: Zach Abraham, Campaign Manager, Tel: +41 79 308 9804.