FN:s migration organization (IOM) woole sfamily climate-related migration on the COP30 agenda. But despite this, climate migration is conspicuous by its absence from the agreements reached at the annual climate summit. At the same time, the majority of the world's refugees seek protection in countries that are already hard hit by climate crises.
When COP30 brought together world leaders in Belém, Brazil, November 10–21 intended The UN's International Organisation for Migration (IOM) ensures that climate-driven migration ficker a central place in the negotiations. Organisations urged the parties i The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to include human mobility in its climate adaptation plans and to prioritize climate finance for migration.
Despite IOM's calls, the agreements adopted at COP30 contain get references to climate-related migrationThe decisions do include increases in climate aid and the Baku to Belém plan, but the wording on climate finance is criticized by, among others, The Swedish Society for Nature Conservation to be vague. A initiative which was presented during COP30 and which was supposed to focus on strengthening those most vulnerable to climate change – and which the EU, among others, supported – does not mention climate-related migration at all.
Why is migration an issue for climate negotiations?
According to Internal Displacement Monitoring Center (IDMC) 9,8 million people were living as internally displaced people as a result of natural disasters at the end of 2024. Not all disaster displacement is climate-related, but as climate change makes extreme weather events more frequent and intense, more people are at risk of being forced to leave their homes. Climate-related displacement has according to IOM been overlooked in the UNFCCC processes.
A new report from the UN refugee agency UNHCR shows that weather-related disasters have forced an estimated 250 million people to flee their homes over the past decade, equivalent to 70,000 displacements per day. The report describes how refugees are exposed to interlinked risks from both conflict and extreme weather conditions. They also highlight that Humanitarian crises continue to be exacerbated by climate change.
TOne in four refugees live in countries that are already severely or extremely exposed to climate-related risks. For example, since April 2023, nearly 1,3 million people have fled the conflict in Sudan to neighboring countries such as South Sudan and Chad, which are two of the world's most climate-vulnerable countriesThere are also reports of cold and heavy rains that further worsening the situation for the Palestinians who were displaced in Gaza.
Climate refugees currently lack the same rights as other refugees, because climate change is not recognized as a basis for refugee status. Up to 2050 estimates World Bank that 143 million people could be forced to flee the climate crisis – just in Latin America, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.
IOM: escape is a climate adaptation
One of IOM's main proposals was to improve access to climate finance linked to migration. Climate finance – or climate aid – is about how rich countries should support low-income countries that are hardest hit by the climate crisis, an issue that has been widely discussed on COP30. It is often about support for development of renewable energy or to adapt to climate changeconsequences.
The organization wantse that the new “Baku to Belém” road map isull include writings that enable financing of interventions to meet climate-related migrationThe plan was presented on November 5 by the COP presidencies of Azerbaijan and Brazil. and has with the aim of increasingthe totaglobal climate finance for to $1,3 trillion per year at the latest 2035.
The IOM also proposed that the Climate Damage Fund, which was created on COP27, should be able to provide support to people forced to flee or migrate due to climate change – both temporarily and permanent.
Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) is the UNFCCC's framework for driving global policy action and financing for climate adaptation. The framework aims to create measurable and global targets for adaptation efforts, as well as to strengthen support for developing countries. IOM wants human mobility to become an integral part of this framework.
Several countries have already started to include mobility in their national climate plans (NDCs, Nationally Determined Contributions). 18 out of a total of 22 African NDCs refers to human mobility as part of climate adaptation.
“Every society deserves the opportunity to adapt and build a safer future. But when it becomes impossible to stay, people must be able to move in a safe and dignified way. That is what we are working for – practical solutions that protect lives and strengthen communities,” said IOM Deputy Director-General Ugochi Daniels in a statement. statement.
