At COP29, the faith-based Amity Foundation highlighted its community development and climate resilience efforts.
The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) convened from November 11 to 22 in Baku, Azerbaijan's capital. The central focus of COP29 was reportedly on mobilizing increased climate finance to address the escalating impacts of global warming.
On November 18, local time in Azerbaijan, the China Association for NGO Cooperation (CANGO) hosted a press conference at the COP29 venue under the theme "Social Organizations Engagement in Sustainable Development and Climate Governance." During the event, Ms. Xie Jie, assistant director of the Amity Community Development and Disaster Management Team, shared that in recent years, the Amity Foundation has collaborated with various social organizations to conduct related efforts in this field, including water rescue training, establishing regular service networks for needy groups such as the elderly, children, and individuals with disabilities, and assisting a rural community in Sichuan Province to understand the impacts of climate change on their livelihoods and production.
In 2023, at the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Amity Foundation, the China Association for NGO Cooperation (CANGO), and the Society of Entrepreneurs and Ecology Foundation (SEE Foundation) jointly launched the "Climate Companions" project. Following its launch, the Amity Foundation supported project partners in Guangdong, Anhui, Qinghai, and Guangxi provinces through a "seed fund" model, encouraging community members to collaborate with academia and different forces from distinct professions to develop diverse climate solutions based on on-the-ground surveys.
The foundation aims to serve as a bridge in climate change response, linking frontline social organizations, climate-vulnerable groups, the public, enterprises, scholars, and policymakers to convey the impacts of climate change across different sectors and foster dialogue between diverse perspectives. The foundation seeks to establish a regular mechanism for seamless information sharing, advocate for using digital tools and varied approaches, and collaboratively explore solutions to enhance climate resilience and strengthen communities' ability to adapt to climate risks in the context of climate change.
