In recent years, there has been a growing awareness amongst humanitarian actors of the potential negative impacts of their interventions – and indeed of the crises themselves – on the natural environment. These impacts can stem just as much from the implementation of programmes in countries of intervention as from the logistics involved, both at headquarters and internationally.
In December 2020, a major collaborative effort culminated in a Statement of commitment, presented at the 5th National Humanitarian Conference. Through this document, 10 NGOs committed to reducing their emissions by 50 per cent by 2030. Following this declaration, a carbon working group comprising these 10 NGOs was set up in early 2021. The first step was to measure the greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their operations and to ensure consistent carbon accounting within the humanitarian sector. A study was then carried out during the first half of 2022, with the aim, in particular, of developing a common methodology and/or tool for greenhouse gas accounting and creating a database of emission factors tailored to the humanitarian sector and the related field activities. All this work, together with further discussions within the working group, resulted in an amended version of the Statement of commitment, published in 2025 and already signed by 14 NGOs.
Based on the results of their initial carbon footprint assessment, the NGOs will be able to implement targeted measures to reduce the impact of their activities, devise dedicated action plans to reduce GHG emissions and support innovative low-carbon projects.
This kind of experience-sharing and the development of tools for the collective good lie at the heart of this working group’s mandate, which is making progress on specific operational issues.
Interested? Please contact the working group lead: carbone@environnementhumanitaire.org