Change The Count! Stop the Housing Crisis in the EU

Sign the petition: https://www.change.org/p/change-the-count-by-2030-1-out-of-4-people-will-live-in-poor-housing-conditions

The fast-moving challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic adds another urgent reason to ensure that people can shelter at home and protect their health and families.

In Europe today, young people cannot afford to rent a flat in many cities; and a growing number of families cannot pay their heating and cooling bills. Globally, more than half of the urban population lives in slums.

Proper housing is a matter of life and death in the current pandemic as people are asked to stay at home to protect themselves against the coronavirus.

Sign the petition: https://www.change.org/p/change-the-count-by-2030-1-out-of-4-people-will-live-in-poor-housing-conditions

Home has become more important than ever, and the European Union has a role to play. Join Habitat for Humanity in calling on the EU to:

· Prioritize affordable housing in the next EU budget for 2021-27, particularly for countries in the global South.

· Increase funding for access to water and sanitation and for slum upgrading to protect communities against diseases.

· Address energy poverty in the European Green Deal with concrete financial measures.

The situation

More than half of the people around the world live in urban areas. By 2050, urban residents are expected to almost double, adding an additional 2,5 billion people to the global urban population.

Cities will continue to grow as people search for jobs, stability and the promise of a better life. While progress has been made, the world’s ability to meet the housing demand of the global urban population is currently outpaced by the rate of urbanisation. One in every 8 people live in a slum.

Without adequate and affordable housing; without land rights, more and more families are at risk of poverty and insecurity. The current coronavirus pandemic has highlighted importance of housing as the means of protection against deadly diseases.

A proper home has become the most important remedy. But it is not accessible to all. Habitat for Humanity works for access to decent housing because it is foundational to individuals and families, to the to the communities in which we live and to the economies in which we all participate.

However, many countries are unprepared and unable to meet the growing housing needs of urban residents. The expected global population increase of 1,18 billion combined with the existing global housing need, means that approximately 2 billion people will be in need of adequate housing in 2030. This creates an unprecedented housing challenge.

Why should we sign this now?

The European Union—the world’s biggest development donor —has a unique opportunity and responsibility to help partner countries in the global South to scale up efforts to meet housing needs. The next EU budget for 2021-27 is a key tool to help millions of people to improve their housing conditions and help them fight the coronavirus pandemic.

The European Commission launched the European Green Deal to address the climate emergency. At the heart of this initiative lies a “renovation wave” of existing buildings, and a focus on alleviating energy poverty to ensure a Just Transition towards a green economy.

Sign the petition: https://www.change.org/p/change-the-count-by-2030-1-out-of-4-people-will-live-in-poor-housing-conditions

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Y Not Freakin’ Recyclable Home
climate emergency