#WaveOfHope #ClimateCrisis #ClimateJustice #Fairtrade
- The global Fairtrade community is challenging national leaders to, at a minimum, deliver on an unfulfilled promise to fund a $100bn per year climate finance package for communities most affected by climate change.
- Political leaders must respect the expertise, needs and ambitions of farmers and workers: communities on the front line of climate crisis must take a leading role in deciding how any funds are spent.
- G7 and the COP26 climate summit offer UK the chance to play its part in delivering a fair climate promise and a fairer future.
The Fairtrade Foundation is encouraging people across Britain to join the Wave of Hope, a national campaign demanding that leaders of the world’s richest nations meeting at the G7 discuss the inseparable global crises of Covid-19, the climate emergency and extreme global injustice.
The Wave of Hope campaign is being run by the Crack the Crises coalition, made up of 75 of Britain’s leading charities and organisations – including the Fairtrade Foundation – who are inviting the public to back its call for the G7 to take decisive action to secure a fair future for everyone on the planet.
As politicians gather in Cornwall for this weekend’s global summit, Fairtrade supporters across the nation have been using the Wave of Hope campaign to tell G7 members that the farmers and workers who produce the UK’s foods and goods must not be ignored.
Renowned illustrator Sakina Saïdi has created a special animation for the Fairtrade Foundation’s Wave of Hope, for people to share on social media channels. The illustration will highlight the need for climate justice for farmers and workers hardest hit by the climate crisis, and every post shared using the #WaveOfHope hashtag will add to the thousands of Waves of Hope calling on G7 members to tackle the world’s biggest crises – Covid-19, injustice, climate change and nature loss.
Hundreds of Fairtrade campaigners up and down the country have already participated and shared their own individually crafted Waves of Hope online, in windows and communities.
Ahead of the G7, Fairtrade Foundation has warned that those nations most responsible for the climate emergency need to back an ambitious and urgent global green investment programme to support communities living with a crisis they did very little to cause. And as decisions are taken on how this investment is used, the expertise of farmers and workers already feeling the worst effects of climate change must be heard and respected, Fairtrade has said.
Data shows that the climate crisis affects us all, but not equally: the highest-earning 10 per cent of the planet’s population are responsible for 50 per cent of all carbon emissions, but it is those on lower incomes are being hit hardest by climate change.
Adam Gardner, Head of Campaigns at the Fairtrade Foundation said: “Living with the reality of the climate crisis every day, our producers recognise the urgent need for global change if their livelihoods are to survive. But due to generations of unfair trade and the legacy of colonialism, millions of the people most affected by the climate crisis cannot earn a living income from their hard work. While they cannot earn enough for their daily essentials, they cannot invest in adapting to crises like the climate emergency or unexpected catastrophes like the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Politicians at the G7 need to understand that it’s not possible to effectively tackle the climate crisis, without climate justice for farmers and a serious commitment to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic on a global scale.”
The global Fairtrade community is challenging national leaders to, at a minimum, deliver on an unfulfilled promise to fund a $100bn per year climate finance package for communities most affected by climate change. It is also demanding that political leaders respect the expertise, needs and ambitions of farmers and workers: communities on the front line of climate crisis must take a leading role in deciding how any funds are spent.
Gardner continued: “Wealthier nations like the UK are responsible for, and have benefited from, the global systems that have caused the climate crisis and the crisis of extreme global injustice. So we need to tell our politicians it’s time to own up to our responsibilities. Given that the UK is hosting both the G7 and the COP26 climate summit in 2021, this is the nation’s chance to play its part in delivering a fair climate promise and a fairer future.
“We hope members of the public will join Fairtrade supporters in sharing a post to form part of the Wave Of Hope and to show solidarity with the people who produce our foods and goods, and others most affected by the climate crisis.”
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For more information, interviews and images, contact martine.parry@fairtrade.org.uk Tel: 07886 301486.
Notes to Editors
- About Sakina Saïdi: Sakina is a plant-loving illustrator living and working in London. Sakina was born and raised in France by Moroccan parents and loves the multi-cultural vibe of London. The mixing of cultures, love of greenery and desire to celebrate the beauty and diversity of womanhood shapes Sakina’s rich vibrant work, and her illustrations are a riot of cheerful colours and motivational messages. Sakina believes in bringing people together through love and positive values and you can follow her work on Instagram.
- Check out the Wave of Hope website for more tips on getting involved and to see more of the beautiful and powerful Waves of Hope flowing in from all over the country.
- Visit the Fairtrade and Climate Justice page to find out more about how Fairtrade and our global Fairtrade community is taking on the climate crisis.