Call to Action: Responsible Digital Payments to Accelerate Climate Action

Approximately 3.6 billion people are vulnerable to climate change, disproportionately affecting women and marginalized groups. In the past decade, 80% of the 250 million people displaced by climate-related events in emerging economies were women. The call to action urges governments, humanitarian actors, financial institutions, and the private sector to enhance emergency responses and climate resilience through inclusive digital payments, promoting wider financial inclusion.

The initiative builds on commitments made by members of the Better Than Cash Alliance including the Governments of Bangladesh, Colombia, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Mexico, Rwanda and the Philippines at a 2023 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) roundtable. It underscores the urgency for timely and efficient action to support those most vulnerable to climate change.

Launched on December 4th, during COP28, by the governments of the Philippines, Ethiopia, Ghana, The Vulnerable Twenty (V20) Group, the World Food Programme (WFP), Mercy Corps, and the Better Than Cash Alliance, hosted by the UN Capital Development Fund (UNCDF), the call to action urges all relevant parties, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and other key actors, to focus on:

1. Expanding digital payments and digital public infrastructure for a more climate-resilient future for all
2. Closing the digital divide by increasing access and connectivity to reduce climate-vulnerability
3. Putting women, youth, indigenous peoples, and communities in fragile and climate-vulnerable areas at the centre of adaptation planning

Download the call to action to learn more.