Actor and World Vision ambassador Hugh Jackman is making sure global leaders hear that poor communities — including rural farmers and their children — are most threatened by the impact of climate change. (WATCH VIDEO)

October 2009

“There is no separation between poverty and climate change,” Jackman said. “They are inextricably linked. You can’t solve one without the other.”

‘We must not forget the poor’

Jackman visited Ethiopia with World Vision in July and saw this reality firsthand. In September, Jackman and Tim Costello, president of World Vision Australia, participated in the opening ceremonies of New York City’s Climate Week at the New York Public Library.

“Simply stated, we must not forget the poor in our negotiations here this week and at Copenhagen [a climate conference in December],” Jackman said. “Poor communities need an agreement that meets their needs. They need financing that helps them to adapt to and mitigate against rapidly changing climate, and they need voices like the voices up here — powerful voices.”

Jackman spoke about his visit to Ethiopia with World Vision and his experience working alongside a coffee farmer named Dukalee. Dukalee has a negligible carbon footprint, Jackman said, but is heavily impacted by the effects of climate change. (Watch video containing segments of Jackman’s speech in New York and footage of his trip to Ethiopia with World Vision.)

“I have seen development that works,” Jackman said. “But all that progress will be undermined unless we can galvanize world leaders and ordinary folks alike to get a good deal at Copenhagen that benefits everyone. A fair, just, and equitable deal.”

‘A voice for the poor’

As one of the world’s leading humanitarian organizations working with the poor in 100 countries, World Vision is calling on the world’s wealthiest governments to take a leadership role on climate change that will help the poor adapt to the threats now facing them.

“We hope to be a voice for the poor amidst all the voices on climate change,” said Costello. “Hugh understands what poor farmers and entrepreneurs are up against, and that to break out of poverty, they require things like microloans, clean water, markets for their products, and schools for their children. The effects of climate change — such as relentless cycles of drought — can threaten many of the gains they’ve worked so hard to achieve.”

International adaptation funds

World Vision is calling on the U.S. government and international community to include “international adaptation funds” in climate change agreements or legislation. Such funding would help poor communities prepare for climate-related disasters, adopt conservation farming techniques, protect water sources, and more.

World Vision is also pressing President Obama and Congress to work together to address the global food insecurity that has pushed the number of hungry people worldwide to nearly 1 billion over the past two years. Changes in weather patterns and more frequent disasters are already making families less secure in their food sources.