Experts have warned that governments need to confront the connections between the global migrant issue and the climate problem because more harsh weather is endangering already vulnerable displaced people and may drive more people to leave their homes.
According to reports, more than 100 million migrants and internally displaced persons live in the world, primarily in poor nations, and they are among the groups most in danger from extreme weather.
However, little has been done to address the plight of migrants affected by climate breakdown or the possibility that more people will move due to increased weather extremes. Experts anticipate more attention in 2023 after the topic received little attention at the Cop27 UN climate meeting in Egypt late last year.
Read also: Amazon staff seek company response to climate change after Pakistan floods
The chief executive of the International Rescue Committee, David Miliband, said: “We have done a really bad job of working together on this. That’s especially damaging given that these [migrants and displaced people] are the most vulnerable people, in conflict-driven parts of the world. These people have done the least to contribute to the climate crisis, but are among the most severely impacted.”
Miliband noted that developing nations needed more resources to protect themselves from the effects of catastrophic weather and lessen the need for population emigration.
The International Organization for Migration’s deputy director general, Ugochi Daniels, also wants to see more attention paid to the connections between climate catastrophe and displacement.
According to Andrew Harper, special adviser on climate action at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, wealthy nations must begin seriously considering the necessity of assisting poor countries in adapting to the effects of extreme weather, the repercussions of which are now clear.
Story was adapted from The Guardian.
