Climate Change & Displaced People - Global Classroom 2016, EIUC

CLIMATE CHANGE AND DISPLACED PEOPLE

•Risingemissionsofcarbondioxide(CO2)andothergreenhousegasesaretrappingmoreheatintheatmosphereandoceans—rapidlychangingtheglobalclimate

•AsoceansabsorbmoreCO2theybecomemoreacidic,threateningtoundomarinefoodchains

•Sincethe1880s,theworld’soceanshavebecome30percentmoreacidicandhaverisenbyabout20centimetres.Sealevelscontinuetorise.

•CO2isreleasedwhenweburnfossilfuels—suchascoal,gasandoil—orwhenforestsarecutdown

•InMarch2015,theworldhitadangerousmilestonewhentheaverageconcentrationofCO2intheairsurpassed400partspermillion(ppm)-40%higherthanCO2levelsbeforetheIndustrialRevolutionstarted

What is Climate Change?

•UnitedNationsFrameworkConventiononClimateChange(UNFCCC)andtheKyotoProtocol

•TheAsiaPacificPartnershipandagreementsundertheG8

•December2015Parisagreementconsolidatedyearsofnegotiationswithagreementamong188countriestolimitcarbondioxideemissions

•Policyresponseshavebeenledbyinternationalnegotiation-sofarlargelyineffectiveatthenationallevel

Action on Climate Change

•Risingsealevelswillmakemanysmallislandstatesuninhabitable

•Droughtsandwaterscarcitywillruincropproductivityintraditionallyfertileregions

•Increaseinfloodsandtheintensityofstormswilldestroyessentialpublicinfrastructure

•Extremeweather—notwarfare,volcanoes,ortsunami—isnowtheprimaryreasonhumanbeingsaredisplaced.

•Droughts,wildfires,floods,powerfulhurricanes,superstorms.Displaced157.8MillionPeopleFrom2008to2014

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

•Climatechangewillforcepeopletofleetheirhomes,villages,citiesandcountriesonanunprecedentedscale

•UNHCRpredictsthatinthecomingdecades,climatechangewillbecomethebiggestdriverofpopulationdisplacementworldwide

•Thenumberofpeopledisplacedbyclimatechangewillgreatlyoutstripexistingflowsofrefugees

•Nointernationalconsensusorlegalframeworkbeendeveloped,todealwiththisexpectedmassmovementofpeople

Climate change impacts and forced displacement

•Peopledisplacedbyclimatechangedonotfallunderthenarrowdefinitionof‘refugee’inthe1951RefugeeConvention

•Littlepoliticalmobilizationtoamendthedefinitionof‘refugee’

•TheUnitedNationsFrameworkConventiononClimateChange(UNFCCC)alsofailstoaddressthesituationofthosedisplacedbyclimatechange

•UNHCRrecommendationsonaddressinghumanmobilityinthecontextofclimatechangewerescrappedinthefinaltextoftheParisAgreement

Action on Climate Displacement

•NansenPrinciplesdevelopedin2011isthemostpromisinginternationalframework

•ThePrinciplescontainabroadsetofrecommendations‘toguideresponsestosomeoftheurgentandcomplexchallengesraisedbydisplacementinthecontextofclimatechangeandotherenvironmentalhazards’.

•Effortstoembedtheseprinciplesinanewbindinginternationalagreementhavesofarbeenunsuccessful

•NorwayandSwitzerlandestablishedtheNansenInitiativetobuildconsensusamonginterestedstatesabouthowbesttoaddresscross-borderdisplacement

The Nansen Principles

PACIFICISLANDNATIONSEstimated 665,000 - 1.7 million Pacific Islanders will be

displaced or forced to migrate by 2050

Rising sea levels

Criticism of developing nations carbon emissions

QUESTIONS

1. What is the situation in regards to climate change in your region?

2. How is it being addressed in your region?

3. What are the human right impacts of climate change in your region?