Our initiative
Climate Action Accelerator was created in 2020 as a Geneva-based initiative with the aim to contribute to containing global warming well below 2°C and strengthen resilience.
Our rationale for action
The climate emergency is one of the greatest challenges of our time. More frequent weather events act as threat multipliers that can lead to displacements, migration, disruption in food and water supplies, public health emergencies, and favours instability and violence.
Faced with this situation, facts are clear: we are not doing enough.
With currently implemented policies, global warming risks reaching 3.2°C (1), very far away from the goals for the Paris Agreement framework aiming at keeping global warming well below 2°C.
At Climate Action Accelerator, we believe that all actors in society should take the initiative to act at their level to act on what they control and can influence. Doing so, they can contribute to global efforts towards halving greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2030 while reinforcing their organisational resilience to the climate crisis.
That is why we created a new, innovative approach to climate action.
Our story
Climate Action Accelerator was born out of the original idea of our founder and executive director, Bruno Jochum. Throughout his extensive career as a humanitarian, and former Director General at Médecins Sans Frontières, he witnessed the devastating impacts of climate change on the most vulnerable populations across the world. Shocked by the extreme gravity of the climate crisis and by the insufficient level of response across societies, he explored ways to contribute to collective action and make a difference.
Climate Action Accelerator was created in December 2020. Our first pilot project was developed in collaboration with ALIMA, a medical humanitarian organisation (2). Lessons and knowledge developed were instrumental to bringing on more partners to the initiative and grow into “go to” organisation for operationalising science-based climate pathways in the health and international aid sectors.
Our impact to date
Climate Action Accelerator acts as a radical catalyst for change, helping organisations to “walk the talk” and turn their climate commitments into practice.
We contribute to remove barriers to action and pilot tailor-made, scalable climate solutions for organisations from high social trust sectors, unlocking access to innovation and knowledge-sharing through open communities of action and practices.
Impact data
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Partners
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Pilot roadmaps and projects
- 15 pilot roadmaps for reducing climate and environmental impact co-constructed with individual organisations
- 14 implementation phases launched or soon to be launched
- 12 pilot roadmaps for low carbon, resilient, sustainable development models launched
- 1 decarbonisation roadmap for the humanitarian sector delivered
- 4 climate resilient, sustainable and low carbon health projects in Chad, South Africa, Senegal and Bangladesh
- 2 pilot approaches with grant-making entities portfolios launched
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Resources
What we stand for
What we stand for
Our vision
We envision a climate resilient, low carbon and sustainable future in which global warming would be kept well below 2°C, preserving a safe and just operating space for humanity.
Our mission
We aim to mobilise an exponential number of organisations who deliver essential services to populations, in view of accelerating the implementation of science-based climate pathways and contributing to a domino effect in society.
How we trigger change
Climate Action Accelerator acts as a radical catalyst for change, helping organisations to “walk the talk” and turn their climate commitments into practice.
We contribute to remove barriers to action and pilot tailor-made, scalable climate solutions for organisations from high social trust sectors, unlocking access to innovation and knowledge-sharing through open communities of action and practices.
Comment
We target high social trust sectors (health, international aid, education, etc.) who deliver essential services to populations and demonstrate a potential to influence others.
We seek to create a domino effect, amplifying change at sectoral level and instigating sectoral tipping points.
We aim for a global impact, working with sectors and partners with an international reach, while aiming to develop local “accelerators” in South East Asia and Africa to better support local climate action acceleration.
Our values
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Urgency driven
The climate emergency is one of the greatest challenges of our time, posing an existential threat to humanity. Scientists warn that the situation is deteriorating faster than expected.
We need to do more and much faster.
At Climate Action Accelerator, we believe that “business as usual” is not an option anymore. Urgent action at pace and scale is required to contain global warming well below 2°C, strengthen resilience and operate within planetary boundaries
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Action-oriented
Every organisation has the capacity to act on what they can control and influence.
At Climate Action Accelerator, we unlock climate action in organisations through supporting the adoption of strong, unequivocal climate commitments. We then provide them with a compass for operationalising those commitments and taking practical steps. We look for concrete, actionable roadmaps and solutions tailored both for programs and operating models.
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Collaboration-minded
Radical collaboration should be at the heart of climate action, especially to learn from others within and across sectors and accelerate the deployment of solutions.
We are committed to openly share the knowledge and insights that will contribute to the development of people-centred, climate-resilient and sustainable operations.
We believe that knowledge and tools in climate action should be considered as a common good.
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People-centred
Faced with the climate crisis, we are concerned by the need to secure essential services to populations across the world, especially the most vulnerable and those most affected by climate change.
That’s why we work in priority with organisations delivering essential services to populations but also high social trust and acceleration potential.
Through our climate action we ultimately aim to contribute to create a safe and just operating safe for humanity.
Our principles for effective emissions reduction
Adopting the following set of principles allows 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.
Harmonisation leading to establish effective reduction plans
Adopting and implementing a common set of principles allows emissions reduction strategies to be more consistent and effective.
A compass for acceleration
Effective emissions reduction requires a multi- pronged approach. Promoting the use of guiding principles will help to spread best practice among humanitarian organisations. This will maximise the volume of emissions avoided and will pave the way for coordinated monitoring and reporting on emissions.
Compass
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Principles
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Generic tools
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Capacity building
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Quality control
9 guiding principles for effective emissions reduction
1. Take responsibility on what you control and can influence
- Take immediate leadership and action wherever it is in the power of humanitarian organisations and donors to do so.
- Try to influence others within their networks and suppliers to do the same.
2. Engage in radical collaboration with others
- Engage in radical collaboration to learn from others inside and beyond the humanitarian sector, in particular local, national and international actors, but also public institutions and private businesses engaged in a similar effort. This may include technical partnerships to access in-depth knowledge and experience on a given subject; operational partnerships to accelerate the deployment of solutions; or strategic alliances to create communities of action.
- Remain committed as highlighted in the Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organisations, (3) to openly share the knowledge and insights that will contribute to the development of people-centred, climate-resilient and sustainable operations.
3. Reinforce or maintain social goals and humanitarian principles
Reducing GHG emissions by 50% should not compromise organisations’ ability to deliver people-centred humanitarian assistance according to their goals and mandate:
- Maintain their ability to provide timely and principled humanitarian assistance
- Secure the quantity and quality of their programmes
- Confirm their adherence to humanitarian principles, especially the ‘Do No Harm’ principle.
- Reduce emissions brings co-benefits for more effective humanitarian assistance
- Be aware of overlaps with the global humanitarian agenda (Localization, Grand Bargain, Triple Nexus).
It’s about changing how organisations do things – by operating within planetary boundaries, not what they do.
4. Set quantified targets and milestones
Each organisation should commit to halving emissions as close as possible to 2030 on a path to achieving net zero in 2050, while adopting specific, quantified targets for each source of emissions:
- Calculate and monitor the carbon footprint.
- Define reduction targets in absolute terms.
- Base targets on identified solutions and actions for the main sources of emissions.
- Formulate effective reduction plans.
- Set quantified intermediary milestones on the way to 2030 and beyond.
By adopting quantified, science-based targets and best practice from the private sector, such as the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) (4), they will contribute to bringing the humanitarian sector to operate within planetary limits, in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement and the recommendations of the IPCC. (5)
5. Exercise integrity
- Comply with GHG Protocol standards.
- Include scopes 1, 2, and 3 in targets for GHG emissions reduction, which notably means that indirect emissions from the supply chain or use of distributed items are included.
- Take into consideration the full operational perimeter of their activities, including programmes delegated to or implemented by partners.
- Do not count carbon offsetting as a reduction in carbon accounting or claim to ‘carbon neutrality’ at the level of an organisation. If utilised, it should be viewed as a separate investment funding projects that may contribute to global carbon neutrality. Organisations who invest in carbon offsetting projects should ensure that these are socially and environmentally responsible, that they comply with the principle of ‘Do No Harm’ and that they meet the highest quality standards in terms of accountability.
6. Commit to transparency
- Monitor and report on emissions annually, including progress made against target – data quality should improve with time and inform more precise mitigation and adaptation actions.
- Share data publicly, especially with international and local partners, donors, and local communities.
7. Favor integrated approaches to climate and environment
Taking into account the various planetary boundaries:
- Promote integrated approaches that have a positive impact on biodiversity and the local environment, notably air, water and soil quality.
- Ensure that climate solutions and actions do no harm to the environment or limit harm at a minimal level.
- Favour solutions that simultaneously address adaptation, resilience and mitigation challenges and bear multiple co-benefits for affected populations and organisations.
8. Make the best use of resources, limiting consumption as and when relevant
Considering the primacy of delivering qualitative, effective humanitarian assistance, but also the extreme tension on sustainable resources, organisations should embrace a mindset of moderation and sufficiency in their organisational model and consumption of goods and services to avoid emissions, where possible, or other negative environmental impacts. In particular, they should:
- Prioritise the reduction of transport needs, then shift to alternative transport means
- Prioritise measures that favour the efficient use of resources, and avoid waste in order to limit procurement to goods and services to those that are necessary to fulfil the mission, then shift to alternative products & services.
- Prioritise the reduction of energy consumption, then shift to renewable energy.
9. Embark your community
- Demonstrate, and actively encourage peers, partner organisations and professional networks to adopt a principles-based approach to reducing their carbon and environmental footprint.
- Prioritise environmental awareness among staff – provide them with opportunities to contribute to the cultural shift and foster a culture of learning and adaptation, building expertise, tools and methods
- Encourage, initiate, join, or contribute to collective capacity-building efforts to accelerate knowledge-sharing and achieve economies of scale.
Our anchor
Climate Action Accelerator vision and work is fully aligned with the recommendations from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)’s latest report (6) (7) (8), and the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHG Protocol) (9). We aim to contribute to achieving the Paris Agreement goal of halving GHG emissions by 2030 on a path to “net zero” (10).
We are also inspired by guidance and best practices promoted by reference climate organisations such as the Science-Based Target Initiative (SBTi) (11). We also operate within the planetary boundaries (12) framework, within which humanity can continue to develop and thrive for the generations to come.
These emerging standards and best practices show that the most effective approaches to emissions reduction involve setting quantified targets, defining climate roadmaps, implementing them through concrete plans of action, and regularly and transparently monitoring and reporting on them.
Such approaches are accessible to all types of organisations including operational ones, funding agencies, large international actors, technical entities, programmes, etc. They should be part of larger transition plans towards low carbon, sustainable, resilient operating models.
In the extraordinary times we are facing, Climate Action Accelerator believes that mitigation, adaptation and resilience are closely tied together. Effective climate transformation not only generates crucial climate outcomes but also reinforces our capacity to deliver services to populations as our world is characterised by increased constraints.
Sources
(1) “AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023”, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), March 2023, Available here
(2) ALIMA: The Alliance for Medical Action, Available here
(3) Climate Charter, “Climate and Environment Charter for Humanitarian Organisations”, Available here, (Accessed 23 May 2024).
(4) Please refer to the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), “About Us”, Available here, (Accessed 23 May 2024).
(5) IPCC, “AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023”, 2023, Available here, (Accessed 23 May 2024).
(6) “AR6 Synthesis Report: Climate Change 2023”, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), March 2023, Available here
(7) IPCC, “Assessment Report AR6”, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Available here, (Accessed 23 May 2024).
(8) IPCC, “Assessment Report AR6”, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Available here, (Accessed 23 May 2024).
(9) “Greenhouse gas (GHG) protocol”, Available here
(10) “Paris Agreement”, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, November 2015, Available here
(11) Science-based target initiative (SBTi), Available here
(12) The planetary boundaries framework, Stockholm Resilience Center, Available here
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Cover photo © USGS/Unsplash.