Towards Halving Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 2030 in the Humanitarian Sector: a Sectoral Roadmap

The climate emergency is one of the greatest challenges of our time and recognised as an ‘existential threat’ (1) to human society. (2) More frequent and more extreme weather events, such as droughts, flooding, tropical storms, and heatwaves can lead to new conflicts, displacements, migration, damage to essential infrastructure, disruption of food and water supplies, and public health emergencies. (3)

Every day, in their work, humanitarian actors witness the mass suffering and intensifying inequalities caused by the combination of conflict, climate change and environmental degradation. Increasingly faced with the unprecedented challenges posed by climate-related disasters, humanitarian organisations have committed to doing their part.

However, the humanitarian community is still unclear about the steps it needs to take to halve greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 on the way to Net Zero, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement, and the IPCC’s recommendations. (4)

In other words: how do we get from where we are to where we need to be?

To intensify efforts, Climate Action Accelerator has developed this Roadmap for Halving GHG Emissions in the Humanitarian Sector by 2030 as a tool to guide humanitarian actors towards meeting their own climate commitments while addressing both populations needs and organisational risk in a world increasingly under pressure.

To intensify efforts towards effective emissions reduction in the humanitarian sector, and despite significant data gaps, Climate Action Accelerator has conducted a preliminary analysis of the sector’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions profile, decarbonisation levers, and key solutions.

This initial estimate, based on extrapolations from financial expenditures, provides a breakdown of emissions by category (energy, transport, procurement, etc.) and by cluster (e.g., food aid and agriculture, health, nutrition).

The findings reveal that 75% of the sector’s GHG emissions stem from procurement, with food items alone accounting for 46%. Energy, freight, and travel contribute significantly, with one-third of procurement-related emissions linked to cash and voucher assistance (CVA).

Achieving a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030 will demand extremely significant levels of effort. Key priorities include:

• Maximising emissions reductions from energy, travel, and freight, potentially exceeding the -50% target.
• Urgent action to reduce procurement-related emissions, particularly (but not only) from food items.
• Advancing research to establish a sector-wide methodology for measuring and reporting emissions from CVA and identifying reduction strategies.

Crucially, these efforts must not compromise the quantity, quality, or timeliness of assistance delivered, particularly in light of the growing gap between populations’ needs and the aid provided. Instead, humanitarian actors are urged to embark on deep institutional and organisational transformations to remain “fit for purpose” in addressing the climate emergency.

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Since 2020, Climate Action Accelerator has been working with partner organisations in the humanitarian sector to develop a consistent, systematic, quantified and evidence-based approach to effective emissions reduction.

The Playbook summarises learnings from these pilot experiences. It outlines “five key steps” for building a roadmap toward effective emissions reduction and introduces a series of “Top eight Solutions”—actions targeting major emission sources such as fuel consumption, air travel, and more. It also offers methodological guidance, highlights the co-benefits of climate solutions, and assesses their financial impacts.

Additionally, the Playbook features key components of a monitoring framework, implementation principles, good practices and curated “must-reads” from within and beyond the humanitarian sector. By exploring its practical tools and insights, organisations can identify opportunities where climate action aligns with humanitarian goals, improving both the quality and accessibility of assistance delivered to those in need.

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Over the past decade, recognised conceptual frameworks and best practices for climate action have emerged, oriented towards setting science-based targets for emissions reduction, and using recommendations from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) latest report and from the Greenhouse gas (GHG) Protocol.

Adopting a set of principles for effective emissions reduction allows humanitarian organisations to:

• Be part of the global effort to genuinely address the climate emergency and limit global warming below 2C, as close as possible to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels
• Maximise the volume of emissions avoided in the sector through harmonising practices across actors
• Pave the way for consistent data reporting, monitoring and analysis

To embark into a radical transformation journey, adopt and implement our “Guiding principles for effective emissions reduction”!

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Systemic actors, i.e. those who have the capacity to influence the humanitarian sector, such as humanitarian donors, United Nations (UN) entities, and large humanitarian organisations, are pivotal in transforming the sector into a “low carbon industry” at the necessary pace and scale.

In “Enabling change: How UN and Donors can lead the way”, Climate Action Accelerator explores how these actors have the capacity to lead by example by taking measures to reduce emissions in their own operations and for the programs they fund (programmatic portfolios), and by helping to shape ambitious policy, coordination, and funding frameworks.

Even though humanitarian donors are increasingly demonstrating their commitment to climate transformation, more robust efforts are needed. A three-tiered approach is essential:

• Implementing a mix of incentives and requirements, allowing a fair, progressive transition phase before requirements are fully implemented
• Enhancing funding opportunities for partners organisations through project-based funds and improving access to alternative sources of funding.
• Providing technical support to partners: capacity building, training and supporting technical-operational innovation.

UN humanitarian entities, which consistently channel around 50% of international humanitarian assistance, must lead transformative efforts. By adopting a principles-based approach in line with IPCC recommendations, and internationally recognised standards, the UN can maximize its emissions reduction potential. This involves setting and adhering to absolute emissions reduction trajectories.

Ultimately, the UN and donors are in a unique position to make the sector more ‘fit for purpose’. This means meeting the growing needs of the most vulnerable populations while adapting structures and modus operandi to the realities of the climate emergency.

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We are grateful to have released our sectoral roadmap for halving emissions by 2030 in the humanitarian sector at the German Federal Foreign Office (GFFO) in Berlin, on June 13th, 2024.

Climate Action Accelerator is extremely thankful to GFFO for co-organising this event, and for supporting this project.

(1) In recent years, not only climate scientists but also world leaders including the UN Secretary General and the US Secretary of Defense, qualified climate change as “an existential threat to humanity”.

(2) W.J. Ripple et al., “World Scientists’ Warning of a Climate Emergency,” BioScience, Oxford University Press, 2020, pp. 8-12, https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.2307/26891410, (Accessed 28 May 2024).

(3) Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Inter-Governmental Panel on Climate Change, “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability,”2022, p. 9, https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg2/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGII_FullReport.pdf, (Accessed 28 May 2024).

(4) IPCC, ” AR6 2023 report”, 2023, https://www.ipcc.ch/report/sixth-assessment-report-cycle/, (Accessed 29 May 2024).

Cover photo: Ahmed Akacha/Pexels