Muslim Aid renews commitment to Climate Change Charter following tragic Libya, Morocco disasters

Muslim Aid has renewed its commitment to the Climate Charter, which it signed early September, just days before the tragic earthquake in Morocco and flood in Libya.

The signing of the Climate Charter expressed an official commitment to what Muslim Aid was already implementing, which proved to be yet more important after the tragedies in Morocco and Libya, where Muslim Aid is now operating in response to the earthquake and floods.

"By signing the Climate Charter, Muslim Aid stands together with other international humanitarian organization on its commitment to work to reduce the impact of the climate crises and protect the lives of the present and future generations. Climate change has been high on our agenda and our actions have aligned to reduce our carbon footprint and to ensure our programmes consider climate change as much as possible, but signing this charter has meant we can continue to stay accountable", says Paola Reyes, Muslim Aid's MEAL Manager.

"We have committed to increasing focus on climate change adaptation., maximising the environmental sustainability of our work, embracing the leadership of local actors and communities and work collaborative across the humanitarian sector and increasing our capacity to understand climate and environment and develop evidence-based solutions."

As the world experiences a growing number of humanitarian disasters due to climate change, Muslim Aid has continuously stepped up in climate-proofing its programmes across the world.

This has been presented through sustainable infrastructure in northwest Syria that was unaffected by the earthquake that took place in February, using solar panels as electricity and localising the purchase of items to reduce the charity's carbon footprint.

This was exemplified in February when the Turkey-Syria earthquake took place. Because of our longstanding presence in northwest Syria, we were able to check on the resilient homes we built for victims of the war. By the will of Allah and our sustainable architectural planning, the homes were intact.

We’ve also seen the impact of climate change with the drought in Somalia, floods in Pakistan and Bangladesh and earthquakes in Indonesia and Afghanistan.

The charter was of significant importance to Muslim Aid’s Pakistan office, which has been responding to the floods that ravaged the country in the summer of 2022 and is currently implementing the latest phase of its response which focuses on building resilience within flood-stricken communities.

“The Climate and Environmental Charter presents a vital opportunity for the government and national and international humanitarian organizations. Being a country that contributes minimally (only 0.9%) to global greenhouse gas emissions but faces severe climate change impacts, by committing to this charter, Muslim Aid Pakistan can enhance its humanitarian response to climate-induced crises, improve environmental sustainability, and reduce emissions, all crucial for addressing its pressing climate challenges”, says Muhammad Mursaleen Mughal, Muslim Aid Pakistan’s Media and Communication Coordinator.

Many of the effects of climate change are unpredictable, which can makes the devastation of what we do currently know even more frightening. As a humanitarian organisation, and as humans, whom Allah has appointed as stewards of the earth, being proactive in the face of climate catastrophe is as important as ever.