​What was the outcome at COP30?

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​Hopes were very high ahead of the conference, which took place in Belém, in the Amazon.

Some issues were progressed:

CAFOD's Climate Change Policy Lead, Liz Cronin said “The final Mutirão decision text contains a very significant victory on a just transition implementation mechanism.” This is a plan or process for ensuring that the world can shift away from fossil fuels and towards a greener future in a fair and democratic way.

However this COP did not deliver everything wanted. Far greater amounts of funding are needed to help local communities cope with the effects of climate change and prepare for the future. This funding needs to be in the form of grants, not loans, to avoid adding further debt to struggling countries.
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For further details from CAFOD please follow the link COP30 outcomes.

Debt and Food

2.33 billion people are facing food insecurity.  Most insecure countries have increased their debt by 75% in recent years.  Climate change is making agricultural production harder.  Debt diverts resources from agriculture.  Kenya spent 16% of its National income on interest payments and 2.46% on agriculture.

Many countries are forced to use land to grow crops for export (coffee & cotton) to get
foreign currency and debt payments. They then cannot produce enough food for local
demand/consumption so import staple foods from outside.

Food security can be achieved by:

• A new global debt framework to provide a level playing field for creditors and debtors. The UK as President of G20 can play a key role in this.
• Alternative ways of producing food such as agroecology, working with nature. This is being applied across the world.
• Urge the government to support sustainable ways of growing food, by writing to the Minister for International Development email the minister with this link.

For further details from CAFOD please follow the link Debt and Food.

Restrictive seed laws overturned: Kenyan farmers' rights restored

After years of campaigning Kenya's seed laws have been declared unconstitutional, setting a positive precedent to challenge similar laws in other countries. The ruling means that, without fear of prosecution, farmers in Kenya are now free to:

• save their own seeds
• share seeds within their communities
• exchange and sell farmer varieties
• strengthen farmer-managed seed systems.

This is a huge step towards restoring seed sovereignty, defending indigenous knowledge and protecting the heart of African agroecology, and affirms that seeds belong to farmers, communities and generations.

For further details from CAFOD please follow the link Restrictive seed laws overturned.

Sudan and war: On the 9th January Sudan had been at war for 1,000 days:

What's happening and how can you help:
CAFOD's Head of Region said, "What I heard left me speechless. Atrocities, mass displacement, and a humanitarian crisis that continues to unfold in silence. The scale of suffering is staggering, and the muted global response has been profoundly disheartening.”

Almost 12 million people have been driven from their homes, more than half of them women and children. 7.2 million people are currently displaced inside Sudan, many living in overcrowded camps facing extreme hunger and disease outbreaks, with millions fleeing across borders into South Sudan and Chad.

Urge the Foreign secretary to act on Sudan. CAFOD has joined with 11 other agencies to ask the UK Government to:

• Scale up diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire
• Increase humanitarian access across Sudan
• Increase funding, in particular to local aid groups

Please sign the petition.

CAFOD are responding working closely with Church partners and other local experts to provide:

• Emergency food, and nutrition screening and treatment in North Darfur State, to quickly identify and treat people who are malnourished
• Cash vouchers for vulnerable families to buy essentials
• Water supply planning and repairs to latrines, including building emergency latrines and trucking water to relocated South Sudanese refugees in the White Nile region
• Support for people who have had to flee their homes

For further details from CAFOD please follow the link The Sudan crisis.