This year\u2019s Guardian and Observer appeal charities do inspirational work, fighting for climate justice where it matters most<\/p>
In August 1965, the German-born, Oxford-educated economist EF Schumacher<\/a> published an article in the Observer. Titled \u201cHelp them to help themselves\u201d, it criticised the prevailing model of aid to the developing world and proposed a new emphasis on regional planning and \u201cintermediate technology\u201d. If the west would give up trying to impose the latest production methods, he argued, it could instead unleash the \u201cpower of self-help\u201d.<\/p> That article led to the creation of a charity today known as Practical Action. The approach it pioneered, of supporting local people to make incremental changes to improve their lives, lies at the heart of the Guardian and Observer\u2019s 2021 charity appeal. All over the world, as our recent \u201cLiving on the frontline of global heating<\/a>\u201d series showed, climate breakdown is having disastrous consequences for the people and communities who (along with their ancestors) have contributed least to the problem of global heating. Practical Action and the other three charities<\/a> that we are supporting cannot stop carbon emissions. But they can, and will, help people in some of the hardest-hit areas and communities to adapt, survive and thrive.<\/p> Continue reading...<\/a>\n