At the COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) of the United Nations urged negotiators to place climate mobility at the core of adaptation plans.
“People and communities who choose to stay must be safe, and those who decide to move must have the option to do so with dignity,” stated Ugochi Daniels, Deputy Director General of the IOM.
Currently, the IOM is developing projects in 80 countries, putting local communities at the forefront of solutions. Daniels hopes that COP30 will be a turning point for including human mobility in national adaptation plans and in funding for loss and damage.
Stories of Displacement: Haiti and Ethiopia
The debate on climate mobility has concrete faces.
Haiti: For Robert Montinard, the issue is personal. The 2010 earthquake lasted just 10 seconds but left scars that persist generations later. Seeking safety, he fled to Brazil as a refugee and now leads the Association Mawon, helping others rebuild their lives.
- At COP30, Robert delivered a proposal to Brazil’s First Lady, Rosângela Janja da Silva, and the Minister of Environment, Marina Silva, which includes the creation of municipal climate councils, action against environmental racism, and community brigades to respond to disasters.
- He describes Haiti’s situation as a “climate injustice”: the same hurricanes that hit Florida destroy his country, but while the United States rebuilds quickly, the buildings ruined by the earthquake still remain in ruins.
Ethiopia: From another corner of the Global South, Makebib Tadesse describes a “continuous cycle of violence and displacement” caused by food and water shortages.
- In the north of the country, the impact of climate change equals or even surpasses the devastation of the civil war between 1974 and 1991.
- “Climate change is driving people out of Ethiopia in ways we have never seen before,” he noted.
Indigenous Voices and International Support
Robert and Makebib are part of the delegation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at COP30, along with Venezuelan indigenous leader Gardenia Warao.
The refugees’ message was amplified by Mexican actor Alfonso Herrera, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador for Latin America.
“The voices of refugees have been silenced, and they must be heard,” he declared to UN News.
Herrera has traveled to countries like Mexico, Venezuela, Honduras, and El Salvador, witnessing the human cost of climate displacement and the UN’s efforts to restore hope through education and legal support. He acknowledged Brazil’s openness to welcoming refugees, in contrast to other countries that adopt restrictive stances.
The Human Cost of Climate Change
Floods, heatwaves, droughts, and storms force millions of people to leave their homes every year. Most remain internally displaced, not crossing borders, but equally uprooted.
Experts warn that, in the near future, entire nations could disappear under rising seas or become uninhabitable due to drought.
Climate mobility, therefore, is not just a logistical challenge: it is a matter of justice and human dignity.
COP30 in Belém marks a key moment to recognize that climate action is not just about saving ecosystems, but also about protecting lives and ensuring no one is left behind.
The IOM and UNHCR, along with the voices of refugees and indigenous communities, demand that human mobility be an integral part of adaptation plans and international funding. The open question is whether negotiators will have the will to turn these demands into concrete commitments.
