A panel on climate justice at ACFID Conference 2024

Climate change will disrupt and reverse economic and human development. Our Pacific neighbours have reaffirmed climate change as the single greatest threat to the livelihoods, security, and wellbeing of the peoples of the Pacific.

In ACFID’s 2024 Advocacy Agenda, ACFID called on the Government to;

• Develop a whole of government approach to meet Australia’s climate finance fair share as agreed by parties under the Copenhagen Accord to acheive the collective $100bn climate finacne goal. This should be new and additional finance to existing levels of ODA.
• Fund Australia’s fair share of Loss and Damage (including non-economic) to address the disproportionate impact of climate change on the societies, economies and culutres of developing countries most vulnerable to climate change impacts.
• Demonstrate Australia’s commitment to a genuine partnership with Pacific Island countries by strengthening the Government’s domestic and exported greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets in line with the pathway to limit global warming to below 1.5c.

To achieve this, ACFID is:

• Continuing to advocate for ambitious climate action, including from our advocacy asks outlined in the 2024 ACFID Climate Policy Brief. 
• Advocating to the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and the Department of  Climate Change, Energy, the Envrionment and Water (DCCEEW) on matters relaing to climate policy internationally.

The ACFID Climate Action Framework supports Australian international development NGOs to increase their engagement and action on climate change.

A common challenge for many actors wanting to engage in climate change issues is to understand the role they can play and where they can be most effective. This framework provides a clear typology of climate actions relevant to Australian NGOs. The framework aims to increase the understanding of the types of action that can be undertaken at different levels of action and provide clearer entry points for organisations wanting to start working on climate change or seeking to step up their work.

To learn more about the Climate Action Framework, get started with the framework summary, read the full research report, or explore the climate action resource hub.

Extending the ACFID Climate Action Framework are the ‘Integrating Climate Change Action’ series of publications, including ‘Enablers of Best Practice‘, ‘Setting the Scene for ANGOs‘, and ‘A How To Guide‘  , designed to provide practice based guidance for integrating climate change action across the Australian international development sector through a research partnership with the Institute for Sustainable Futures, University of Technology Sydney. This included leading an ACFID Conference session and producing guidance, case studies and learning tools on enablers for best practice.

The Climate Policy and Practice Community (CPPC) is one of ACFID’s Communities of Practice. The CPPC has two streams, CPPC Stream 1 meets to discuss and share good practice, tools and resources for climate action at the programmatic and operational level of work. CPPC Stream 2 meets to discuss Policy and Advocacy related to climate action. The CPPC can be joined by ACFID members through MyACFID. Instructions for joining CoPs can be found at ACFID Community of Practice Guidelines.

As part of its ongoing commitment to support members in addressing climate change, ACFID implemented the Climate Action Peer Learning Program (CAPLP) from March to June 2024. Guided by ACFID’s Development Practice Committee’s Climate Action Group, and with technical support from the University of Technology Sydney’s Institute for Sustainable Futures (UTS-ISF), the CAPLP aimed to enhance members’ capacity for climate action at programmatic, operational, and policy levels. The program engaged 34 member organisations of varying sizes in a peer learning format, combining small-group Learning Pods with a series of online and in-person sessions. Participants explored nine key climate topics, such as building climate resilience and implementing nature-based solutions, supported by curated resources and collaborative action planning tools.

As documented in the final report, the CAPLP delivered strong results, with significant increases in participants’ knowledge, confidence, and skills to lead climate initiatives. It also improved organisational understanding of revisions to the ACFID Code of Conduct related to climate action. The Peer Learning Program built on ACFID’s broader climate work, including the Climate Action Framework, Resource Hub, and policy updates, and underscores ACFID’s commitment to supporting its members in climate action.

An on-demand version of the Climate Action Peer Learning Program will be available for members to access later in 2025.