Generous Guardian and Observer readers have raised more than £1m for four charities that are fighting for climate justice and working with communities severely affected by climate-induced extreme weather events.
A late surge in donations, coupled with a four-day extension helped push the 2021 charity appeal to £1,005,000 before it closed on Thursday night. It is the seventh year in a row that the appeal has raised more than £1m for charity.
Just over 9,500 people gave to the appeal. Donations will be shared between four charities: Practical Action, Global Greengrants Fund UK, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and Environmental Justice Foundation.
The theme this year was climate justice, inspired by stories of people and communities uprooted by climate volatility, whether flooding, wildfire, melting ice or drought, from Madagascar to the Arctic Circle.
Thousands of donors emailed to tell us why they had given money to the appeal. Many said climate change was the most urgent issue affecting the planet, with many making the point that the people worst affected by climate crisis, in the world’s poorest countries, had done least to cause it.
Each of the appeal’s four partner charities work in developing countries in the global south. “We all have responsibility for the future of our Earth and a further responsibility to support those communities most affected by extreme weather events,” one donor wrote this week.
Practical Action’s chief executive, Sarah Roberts, said: “On behalf of all of the communities we work with, I’d like to say a huge thank you to Guardian and the Observer readers. Their generosity will help us enable people on the frontline of climate change get the tools and knowledge they need to take back control of their lives.”
Eva Rehse, the chief executive of Global Greengrants Fund UK, said: “Thanks to the readers of the Guardian and Observer for your incredible generosity and solidarity. Your donations are acts of climate justice, and give us hope for a better future.”
Steve Trent, the chief executive of Environmental Justice Foundation, said: “The overwhelming generosity of the readers of the Guardian and Observer has meant we are going into 2022 ready to continue our fight for climate justice.”
Richard Deverell, the director of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, said: “We can’t thank the supporters of the Guardian and Observer appeal enough. The incredibly generous sum of money raised will make a big difference to the lives of people we work with in Madagascar. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your generosity for seeking justice for the victims of climate change and helping us find solutions in nature.”
