EO QBE Foundation & British Red Cross

Each year, the British Red Cross responds to an average of 2,200 incidents, including climate-related emergencies and floods. Research shows that climate change is increasingly impacting communities:

• The number of climate and weather-related disasters has risen almost 35% since the 1990s
• In the past ten years, 83% of all disasters triggered by natural hazards were caused by extreme weather and climate-related events, such as floods, storms and heatwaves.
• By 2050, 8 million properties in England could face flooding and the number of heat-related deaths in the UK could rise to 7,000 a year.
• Climate change affects people from all walks of life in the UK, but climate impacts disproportionately affect the poorest and most vulnerable populations.

Together, the EO QBE Foundation and the British Red Cross aim to help communities across the UK to prepare for and respond to the impacts of climate change.  

“As the world leading humanitarian responders, we are witnessing first-hand the extreme impacts that climate change is having on communities around the world and in the UK. By taking action to adapt to the impacts of climate change across the UK, the British Red Cross can build a more climate resilient future for all. But we cannot tackle this alone and we’re grateful to the EO QBE Foundation for their commitment.

Together, we can make a difference in how we prepare for climate-related emergencies and support communities to better prepare, respond and recover from climate impacts in the UK.”
Summer Wyatt-Buchan, Climate Adaptation and Resilience Manager

Read more about our work in the community through the QBE Foundation in our Performance and reporting page.

^{Sources: IFRC, World Meteorological Organization, Atlas of Mortality and Economic Losses from Weather, Climate and Water Extremes, GOV.UK, UK Parliament.}

^{Copyright for both images is ©Peter Summers/British Red Cross.}