As our world faces an unprecedented crisis, the number of food-insecure people is expected to double from what it was in 2019, placing 49 countries at risk of famine. The Global Agriculture and Food Security Program (GAFSP), which was created to help low-income countries build sustainable and resilient agriculture and food systems, continues to provide…
I’m ActionAid USA’s new Individual Giving Officer! My main role here is to manage our fundraising stream for donations ranging from $25 all the way up to $1,000 and build personal relationships with our supporters. I joined the team a couple of weeks ago, and when I was asked to contribute to the staff blog,…
In the title and subhead of her COP27 wrap-up article for The New Republic, Kate Aronoff accurately conveys the magnitude of what happened in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt at the latest round of UN climate negotiations: “How the U.S. Abruptly Shifted Decades of Climate Policy: In just 72 hours, the United States reversed course on…
Australia’s parliament has finally passed the country’s first climate change law in over a decade. The bill’s goal is to cut carbon emissions by 43% by 2030 with the aim of achieving zero carbon emissions by 2050. While it is a good step forward, it is not enough and definitely not consistent with a 1.5…
Recently, we welcomed a delegation of Indigenous leaders from Guatemala who were visiting Washington, D.C., to present their case for territorial rights in Guatemala to the Interamerican Human Rights Commission. Momentum against corruption in Guatemala’s justice system and favor of land rights was stopped by the Trump administration and some members of Congress who supported…
If you have been following the activities at COP27, then you know that Tuesday was a big day for Net Zero (or maybe I should say exposure of what it really is). The UN High-Level Expert Group on Net Zero, led by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, released its report in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt. My colleagues have consistently called out carbon offsetting…
On Wednesday, I drove down to the University of Kentucky (UK) for a fireside chat with the new President and CEO of the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America (TIAA), Thasunda Brown Duckett. Why? We wrote her a letter, along with 112 other organizations, in the fall of 2021 demanding that TIAA stop grabbing…
The day after the closure of the 50th Committee on World Food Security (CFS), I’m not sure if I’m more angry or depressed. While millions of people are starving due to climate disasters, inflation, and conflicts, governments gathered at the CFS 50 expecting to coordinate a response to the global food crisis. Instead, they spent…
The Supreme Court has a major legitimacy problem that threatens American democracy and the future of our country. Considering recent Supreme Court rulings on women’s rights and the environment, two issues at the core of ActionAid’s work around the world, the Court and its reputation is timely and on the minds of many as we…
If there is one thing that I think the death of Mahsa Amini has proven and re-proven, it is that in Iran, women’s freedom has reached a whole new level of insignificance in the eyes of those in power. This, however, should highlight the increasing importance of protest and standing in solidarity with those who…
