Andrew Harper
“Climate change is the defining crisis of our time, and its impacts are unevenly weighted against the world’s most vulnerable people. Refugees, and those fleeing conflict and persecution, are disproportionately placed on the frontlines of climate change.”
When you imagine refugees, you might imagine individuals and families looking to find safety away from conflict and war, and indeed people are seeking refuge from persecution, conflict, and violence every single day.
These are some of the people the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is mandated to protect.
However, there are also those whose homes are destroyed by flooding, or who evacuate their villages before a fire sweeps through. Others still are forced to leave their lands when extended droughts result in crop failure, or where a lack of food or water sparks competition over access. Under a rapidly changing climate, such events risk becoming increasingly common, and the cascading impacts exponentially worse.
In 2020 there were over 30 million new displacements due to disasters alone-the highest figure in a decade. Furthermore, climate change is also aggravating other drivers of displacement - worsening poverty, food insecurity, water shortages and access to other natural resources that communities have relied upon for generations for survival.
For example, in the Sahel region, which is at the centre of one of the world’s fastest growing displacement crises with close to 1.6 million internally displaced people (IDPs) and 365,000 refugees having fled violence, is also being disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis. In Niger, Chad, Mali and many other countries the rainy seasons are growing shorter, compounding threats for people already living with conflict and insecurity. Land and water disputes between farmers and pastoralists are being increasingly exploited by extremists seeking a foothold in the region.
Overall resilience to climate shocks and displacement is often lowest in fragile and conflict-affected contexts where essential services, infrastructure and governance is less able to support populations. In the summer of 2020, an estimated 300,000 people in Yemen lost their homes due to torrential rains and severe flash floods. Some had already been displaced by the conflict and were now displaced for a second time.
While the causes of displacement are becoming increasingly complex, we can observe a general correlation between climate vulnerability and displacement. Even though only 20% of the world’s population live in a highly climate vulnerable country, nearly 90% of refugees come from one of these countries, such as Afghanistan, Myanmar, South Sudan and Syria.
At the same time, many of those living in displacement are on the frontlines of the climate emergency. 40% of refugees and 70% of internally displaced persons (IDPs) live or are hosted in a highly climate vulnerable country. In Bangladesh more than 870,000 Rohingya refugees are now exposed to increasingly frequent and intense cyclones, where subsequent flooding and landslides can destroy shelters and displace refugees yet again.
As the world continues to heat rapidly, and as the associated risks exponentially grow, UNHCR is stepping up its commitment to meet the current and future challenges posed by climate emergency. We aim to better protect and empower those displaced in the face of climate change and have developed a UNHCR Strategic Framework on Climate Action to guide our efforts and support access to protection for people displaced in the context of climate change and disasters.
Our operations are working to enhance the resilience of displaced persons to climate related risks and strengthen disaster preparedness. We also strive to deliver a greener humanitarian response, as protecting and preserving the natural environment is one of the best ways to protect the people living there. This includes supporting renewable energy in displacement settings, such as establishing the largest solar plant ever built in a refugee camp, which can be found in Za’atari refugee camp in Jordan. We also launched a Clean Energy Challenge to bring businesses, governments and organizations together to provide green and safe energy to displaced populations.
The frontlines of climate change are growing wider and deeper, no country region or community will be immune. However, those who have contributed least to the problem will be disproportionately affected. This is especially true for those who have been displaced. The recent release of the report from the scientists of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says that the average global temperature will likely reach the 1.5°C degree threshold in the next 20 years, and on the current trajectory, the rise could be 2.0°C by 2060. Every week we hear of unprecedented weather extremes and broken temperature records, all while only at a 1.1°C warming increase.
There are many projections for how many people will be forced to move due to climate change, but the reality is, that number depends on how urgently we act now. It depends on how quickly we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as this will determine the severity of our future world. It also depends on how well we support climate vulnerable countries and communities prepare for and build resilience against the threats climate change poses to people’s safety, livelihoods and dignity.
The longer we delay necessary action, the more far-reaching, costly, and lethal the consequences of climate change will be. The highest cost of climate change is the cost of doing nothing. We need to act now.
Andrew Harper is Special Advisor on Climate Action at UNHCR
