Alliance Online - September 2007

Comic Relief and climate change – first steps

Peter Macfadyen

Climate change has already had a very significant impact on many people in Africa in both subtle and catastrophic ways. In early 2006, Comic Relief began to recognize this trend and set in place a process to better understand what was happening and how poor people might be affected. With this knowledge they have begun to make changes at an organizational level and to decide how best to respond, both as a funder and as a communicating organization.

Commissioning research

As I write this, parts of England are still under water from flooding. Climate change is as likely to be on the front pages as international terrorism and there is a growing realization that things aren’t what they used to be. In early 2006, Comic Relief partners in Africa were increasingly talking of irregular weather and some NGOs had just begun to shout about the issues.

By May, a sufficient level of concern had been reached for the International Grants Committee to commission a paper on the subject. They asked that this should: synthesize the main areas of debate and consensus on climate change opinion, policy and practice; provide a basis for discussion and consultation with stakeholders, staff and other organizations working on the topic; and throw up options for Comic Relief’s policy on climate change.

Given the various areas of controversy that were already emerging (not least, on whether climate change was actually happening!), they asked that the final paper should be clear about the uncontested issues and then provide a spectrum of dark green to light green positions. Given Comic Relief’s role as a funder of work in Africa through UK international NGOs, the paper was to detail what other organizations were already doing, and to include as much consultation as possible with Africans themselves.

A consultant was appointed, who had considerable experience of working with Comic Relief and a sound basic, but lay person’s, knowledge of the issues. The research was carried out between July and September.

The report’s findings

The ensuing report, Climate Change and Comic Relief, presented in November, accepted the basic scientific premise of climate change: that carbon dioxide (CO2), released by human activity, is trapping excess heat near the earth’s surface. The resulting increase in temperature is causing major changes in the earth’s climate patterns. This process is irreversible, and there is only a short period in which to drastically reduce emissions if we are to avoid widespread human misery and suffering.

Climate change is already affecting poor people in Africa and is likely to be a major factor in Millennium Development Goals not being met, and other development gains of the last few decades going into reverse. Many areas of Africa are likely to experience extreme changes in climate, and Africans are particularly vulnerable due to high levels of poverty and lack of infrastructure. At this stage, it was unclear how Comic Relief’s UK grants programme could usefully engage with climate change, and it was recommended that climate change work should focus on Africa.

The report recorded the confused messages that have accompanied much of the climate change debate. The skills and experience of Comic Relief both as a grantmaker and as a communicator of complex messages were widely recognized. The organization is thus seen as potentially playing a key role in communicating the issues.

The paper recommended that Comic Relief should recognize the impact of climate change on its mission and agree a strategic response that takes in work on three fronts: grantmaking, campaigning and organizational change. The Grants Committee, and later trustees, fully accepted these recommendations.

Review of current grants

An initial review of all live international grants was carried out. It can be argued that almost all poor people in Africa are, and will be, affected by climate change. While none of Comic Relief’s current grants were made with that in mind, a number do clearly already work to support people in adapting to the increased changes they are facing as a result. These are almost all working with pastoralists and hunter-gatherers, although some work on conflict resolution across the Sahel is also linked to climate change and projects are reducing the impact.

The review highlighted some grants that look particularly vulnerable – especially where groups are working with one crop in a relatively marginal area. While this work was useful, it served mainly to illustrate that much deeper analysis is required to better understand the vulnerability of people in projects, and to look at how this can be reduced.

Organizational change

A ‘Carbon Audit’ was commissioned to determine what parts of Comic Relief’s work produce what carbon dioxide. A project team was put in place, led by the head of Human Resources, with members including people from internal communications, buildings management, international grants and Comic Relief’s external relationships. A decision was made early on not to get in too deep – it’s possible to spend a huge amount of time working out the finer details of where energy is used. The audit report confirmed that overseas flights are by far the most significant CO2 producer for Comic Relief. It also highlighted a number of smaller areas where changes could be made, and provided an important base line from which reductions can now be made.

The project team has now evolved into a follow-up team to develop and promote internal energy-saving initiatives, with a second group to look at how best to tackle air travel. Initially this will involve much clearer guidelines on how flights should be justified.

In parallel, presentations on the November report have been made to all staff and senior management, and discussions held with international grants staff. These have been well received – the challenge seems to be getting people to move beyond their interest and concern to making a commitment of time!

Campaigning

Comic Relief activity rolls from one event to the next – days after Red Nose Day is over, the various teams are working even harder on Sport Relief. Into that mix come opportunities like Make Poverty History and the 2012 Olympics. While communications and marketing staff may recognize the importance of climate change as individuals, real engagement with an issue that is such a huge challenge is just beginning.

Grantmaking

The grants staff and committee recognized that a further piece of research was required to ‘…ascertain what makes a good grant in the area of climate change’. This should look at grantmaking that relates to mitigating climate change and to enabling communities to adapt to it. They also asked for greater clarity and guidance on the pros and cons of carbon offsetting and carbon trading as they relate to Africa. (This is important both to Comic Relief’s grantmaking and to possible offset of its own carbon production). Again, they stressed the importance of holding discussions with Africans in Africa, as well as INGOs and experts in the north.

This work is currently reaching its conclusion and will be presented to the Committee in September. The report will argue that climate change ‘simply’ puts new strains on existing development practice, exposing where it is weak and demanding rapid learning to make adjustments. Comic Relief’s core programme remains just as vital and climate change puts new pressures on projects to deliver. This raises a range of issues around how climate change should be treated and what the implications are right across the organization.

Compared to 18 months ago, international NGOs are queuing up to engage with climate change as the impact on their partners is more clearly exposed. For a growing number it is a key part of new strategy, running programmes to help poor people adapt; looking at ways to ‘climate-proof’ existing work; engaging with northern campaigning; and reducing their own footprint. As yet, there is little clear guidance on how best to carry out this strategy, with few projects designed around learning. Equally, funders do not yet appear to have caught up with the need. In 2006, for agencies seeking project funds in the UK, climate change was ‘the most difficult area to find funds for’,[1] with no change in funding between 2005 and 2006.

The reason for this is perhaps in part the complexity of the issues that the Comic Relief grantmaking paper will bring out. For example, carbon trading looks at first sight likely to have very significant potential benefits for Africa, but is it simply designed so that the North can continue to pollute for as long as possible, with no benefits ever likely to reach the poor? Biofuels come up constantly in conversations with African environmentalists, for whom they are a huge threat … but are there ways that poor people can benefit from these new crops? And is carbon ‘offsetting’ a logical way to support projects in the South while balancing Comic Relief’s remaining emissions, or is it a huge diversion from the fundamental task of changing the way international NGOs operate? Comic Relief is seeking to better understand the pros and cons in these and other areas, and then to move as quickly as possible to provide strategic support.

Refusing to engage is not an option

Refusing to engage with climate change is not an option for organizations working with poor people in the South. (Increasingly, it looks as if it’s not an option for any of us, whatever we do.) Ultimately, Comic Relief’s attempt to understand the issues and analyse how best to support those most affected is likely to involve a corporate approach, with an awareness built up across the whole organization of how partners in the UK and the South can best benefit from Comic Relief’s experience and funding. As Grace Akumu, Founder Director of Climate Network Africa, remarks: ‘The level of public awareness about climate change, its threats and opportunities is very low in Africa.’ Because of this, it will take some time to focus clearly on how best Comic Relief should meet the real needs of poor people in Africa – which remains the clear intention.

1 Where the Green Grants Went, Environmental Funders Network, May 2007.

Peter Macfayden is an assessor for Comic Relief. He can be contacted at p.macfadyen@comicrelief.org.uk

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