Displaced and refugees are the victims on the front line facing the climate crisis. This situation increasingly causes forced displacements and disproportionately affects people who had to flee their homes to save their lives.
Currently, there are more than 120 million displaced people worldwide. Three out of four live in countries with high or extreme exposure to climate-related hazards.
In the last 10 years, climate-related disasters have caused 220 million internal displacements, equivalent to approximately 60,000 displacements per day.
In 2023, 26.4 million internal displacements were caused by climate disasters, the third-highest figure in the last decade.
### Climate refugees and displaced persons
Climate change, conflict, and displacement are becoming increasingly interconnected. According to the numbers from the [ACNUR Argentina Foundation](https://noticiasambientales.com/medio-ambiente/el-impacto-ambiental-de-los-conflictos-armados-y-el-desafio-de-la-recuperacion-sostenible/), 70% of internally displaced persons due to conflicts, 60% of stateless persons, and 40% of refugees live in vulnerable countries.
It means they are not prepared to adapt to climate change.
Meanwhile, half of the currently displaced persons live in countries exposed to both conflicts and climate threats, including Sudan, Syria, Haiti, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Myanmar, Ethiopia, Yemen, and Somalia.
Additionally, 42 out of the 45 countries that recorded displacements due to conflicts in 2023 also experienced displacements due to climate disasters. This causes states to have increasingly less capacity to respond, provide protection, and invest in adaptation and resilience.
### “On the front line of those affected”
“The way you experience the climate crisis depends on who you are and where you live. In some places, it may result in a food crisis, in others a water crisis,” says Paula Martínez Álvarez, Communications Director of the ACNUR Argentina Foundation.
“It can generate a housing crisis, a survival crisis, and, in many cases, it is also a human rights crisis. Displaced persons are on the front line of those affected, which is why they need support and protection,” she describes.
As climate disasters become more extreme and impact their countries of origin and destinations, displaced persons are forced to move again and again, without a safe place to go.
This increases the risk of prolonged displacement and reduces the chances of return:
– 86% of Afghan refugees have sought refuge in Iran and Pakistan, countries facing even greater climate risks.
– 72% of Myanmar refugees are in Bangladesh, where natural disasters like cyclones and floods are classified as extreme.
– Since the war broke out in Sudan, 700,000 people sought refuge in Chad, one of the world’s most vulnerable countries to climate change.
### What is happening in America?
The adverse effects of climate change are also increasingly felt in the American continent.
This, combined with socio-economic and security challenges, increases the risk of displacement, within and beyond borders, for millions of people.
By December 2023, the Americas region had provided shelter to 23 million people receiving protection or assistance from ACNUR, other partner organizations, or States.
In the last decade, disasters caused an annual average of 2.1 million internal displacements, mainly due to climate change-related hazards (Global Report on Internal Displacement 2023).
### Positive actions against the climate and humanitarian crisis
The Ponchos Azules are more than one million people in Argentina who form the world’s largest movement in support of refugees.
This year, to raise awareness about the impact of the climate crisis, the ACNUR Foundation added the colors of the global warming stripes to its renowned blue poncho.
Furthermore, as part of its visibility actions, the ACNUR Argentina Foundation dedicated a special section on climate change in its fifth edition of the Concert with the Refugees. An event to benefit refugees and displaced persons held this year at the Gran Rex Theater and broadcasted on Telefé.
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