CRS Climate Change Directions
CRS has finalized the internal working paper “Climate Change and the Call to Global Solidarity,” which will form the basis of the agency’s response to climate change going forward. A 4–6 pp. summary, including definitions and case studies from CRS’s work to cate plus an action plan of future activities, will be released in August.
With the new Obama administration in place and the climate change meeting coming up in Copenhagen in December, there is rising interest in addressing climate change both in the United States and internationally. In the U.S., the Waxman-Markey bill is making its way through Congress, and CRS along with USCCB and the Catholic Climate Covenant (CCC) have actively supported this legislation. All partners are also working hard on raising the issue of the impacts of climate change on the poorest around the world. The potential funding for international adaptation that any U.S. legislation might generate runs into the billions of dollars – how this will be worked out and over what time period is something we need to follow closely this year and next.
CRS, the USCCB, and the CCC are discussing ways of raising Americans’ consciousness of the impacts of climate change on the poorest in the world. The recent CCC campaign “Who’s under your carbon footprint?” is one fruit of this effort so far. One initiative now under discussion is to create new opportunities for people to off-set their footprint through supporting national and international adaptation projects.
An example of how this might work is furnished by a pilot project CRS has started in Kenya, which links planting trees to voluntary carbon markets. Farmers will receive payments for trees they keep alive for an initial five-year period, and then receive carbon payments from year five onward. Our U.S. partner, the International Small Group and Tree Planting program, is providing technical experience and support on the quantification and certification of the trees, as well as the management of the carbon sales beyond the five years. Farmer groups benefit in the short term from CRS-supported green gram agroenterprise development, and in the longer term by income from the trees.
Publications library
New publications
- Strategies for Sustainable Coffee
Coffee production is important to both the economies and ecologies of the regions in which it is produced. This poster looks at how CRS is providing support for coffee-based livelihoods to
Increasing Smallholder Access to Finance
This poster looks at how increasing smallholder access to finance through saving and lending can lead to increased investment in agriculture.
Increasing Market Access for Smallhold…
CRS is helping farmers in the Phillipines organize into product clusters to supply quality produce at the right price and time. Download this poster to learn more about this approach.
A Holistic Livelihoods-based Approach …
CRS uses the Integral Human Development conceptual framework to help design programs in the field. The framework and how it works is presented in this poster.
Baby-Friendly Farms
This poster explains how CRS is helping women practice exclusive breastfeeding and improve their nutrition through baby-friendly farms to reduce infant morbidity and mortality in Sierra Leone.