Our climate action is focused on three main areas:ġ. He drives UNHCR’s engagement on the climate emergency, serves as a global advocate, and is responsible for providing oversight and expertise to shape UNHCR's climate action agenda. In January 2020, the High Commissioner for Refugees appointed Andrew Harper as the Special Advisor on Climate Action. UNHCR’s role in addressing climate change and disaster-related displacement
Waiting for disaster to strike is not an option.”įilippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees “We need to invest now in preparedness to mitigate future protection needs and prevent further climate caused displacement.
#Agenda definition drivers
It recognizes that “climate, environmental degradation and disasters increasingly interact with the drivers of refugee movements”. The Global Compact on Refugees, affirmed by an overwhelming majority in the UN General Assembly in December 2018, directly addresses this growing concern. Refugee and human rights law therefore have an important role to play in this area. Some people are forced to cross borders in the context of climate change and disasters and may in some circumstances be in need of international protection. Hazards resulting from the increasing intensity and frequency of extreme weather events, such as abnormally heavy rainfall, prolonged droughts, desertification, environmental degradation, or sea-level rise and cyclones are already causing an average of more than 20 million people to leave their homes and move to other areas in their countries each year. In such conditions, climate change can act as a threat multiplier, exacerbating existing tensions and adding to the potential for conflicts.
Crops and livestock struggle to survive where conditions become too hot and dry, or too cold and wet, threatening livelihoods. Limited natural resources, such as drinking water, are becoming even scarcer in many parts of the world that host refugees.
#Agenda definition full
The full implementation of Agenda 21, the Programme for Further Implementation of Agenda 21 and the Commitments to the Rio principles, were strongly reaffirmed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) held in Johannesburg, South Africa from 26 August to 4 September 2002.The impacts of climate change are numerous and may both trigger displacement and worsen living conditions or hamper return for those who have already been displaced. It was agreed that a five year review of Earth Summit progress would be made in 1997 by the United Nations General Assembly meeting in special session.
The Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was created in December 1992 to ensure effective follow-up of UNCED, to monitor and report on implementation of the agreements at the local, national, regional and international levels. Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment.Īgenda 21, the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, and the Statement of principles for the Sustainable Management of Forests were adopted by more than 178 Governments at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 3 to 14 June 1992.
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