UNHCR climate report proves link between climate shocks, conflicts and displacement

In its first climate report, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees warns that people who have had to flee war, violence and persecution are increasingly affected by the global climate crisis. Furthermore, the UNHCR assumes that the number of countries exposed to extreme climate-related risks will increase from three to 65 by 2040 and that the vast majority of these countries are home to displaced people. This will put already vulnerable people in an even worse situation, without the means and support to adapt. 

The UNHCR - in collaboration with 13 expert organizations, research institutions and refugee-led organizations - presented the report at the World Climate Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan. It uses the latest data to show how climate shocks interact with conflicts and put already vulnerable people in an even worse situation.

"The climate crisis is a great injustice"

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi

 

Key facts of the report

• Of the more than 120 million displaced people worldwide, three quarters live in countries that are severely affected by climate change.
• The report also found that 90 million displaced people live in countries with high to extreme exposure to climate-related hazards and almost half of all forcibly displaced people bear the burden of both conflict and the negative impacts of climate change.
• According to the UNHCR, these include countries such as Sudan, Syria, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Lebanon, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Yemen and Somalia.
• In the last 10 years, weather-related disasters have displaced 220 million people from their villages and towns, at least temporarily - that's the equivalent of around 60,000 displacements per day.

According to the report "No Escape: On the Frontlines of Climate Change, Conflict and Forced Displacement" (roughly: No Escape: On the Frontlines of Climate Change, Conflict and Forced Displacement), the number of countries exposed to extreme climate-related hazards is expected to increase from three to 65 by 2040 and the vast majority of these countries will be hosting displaced people. Most refugee settlements and camps are also expected to experience twice as many days of dangerous heat by 2050.

"For the world's most vulnerable people, climate change is a harsh reality that profoundly affects their lives."

said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. "The climate crisis is driving people out of regions that are already home to many people who have fled conflict and insecurity. This further exacerbates their plight and leaves them with nowhere to go for safety."

Climate finance does not reach the people most affected

The report also shows that climate finance is not reaching refugees, host communities and other people in unstable and war-affected countries, so their ability to adapt to the impacts of climate change is rapidly deteriorating.

Currently, extremely fragile states receive only about two US dollars per person in annual adaptation funds, an astonishingly low amount compared to 161 US dollars per person in non-fragile states. When investments flow into fragile states, more than 90 percent of them go to the capital cities, while other places hardly benefit at all.

UNHCR calls for fairer distribution

As part of the report's launch at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, UNHCR is calling for increased climate finance that reaches those most in need. UNHCR also calls on states to protect displaced people who are further threatened by climate disasters and to give them and the societies that host them a voice in financial and political decision-making.

"People who are forced to flee and the societies that take them in are the least responsible for carbon dioxide emissions, but pay the highest price for it."

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi