IOM Perspectives on Climate Change and Migration:
10 Key Takeaways from the COP24 Recommendations on Integrated Approaches to Address Displacement and Climate Change
By Mariam Traore Chazalnoel, MECC Thematic Specialist (IOM Focal Point for the UNFCCC) and Dina Ionesco, Head of MECC Division (Member of the Task Force on Displacement)
An important step forward in the ongoing development of the global governance of climate migration took place at the latest Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP24 – UNFCCC), in Katowice, Poland, December 2018. States Parties to the UNFCCC adopted in COP Decision 10/CP.24 the Recommendations from the report of the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage Associated with Climate Change Impacts on integrated approaches to averting, minimizing and addressing displacement related to the adverse impacts of climate change.
The last few years have seen an intensification of the global awareness of climate migration challenges. This topic was at the core of the negotiations towards the adoption of the first United Nations (UN) global agreement on international migration – the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (GCM).
In parallel, the UNFCCC, through the work of the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism (Excom/WIM), was engaged in an intensive programme of work pertaining to climate change and migration. Both the migration track and the climate change track reached important milestones in December 2018, when the GCM and the Task Force on Displacement recommendations were adopted within days of one another – with each document referring to the need for synergies between both processes.
Ten Key Takeaways from the Recommendations
1. The recommendations address all forms of human mobility linked to climate change.
2. Countries should integrate climate change and migration concerns when formulating laws, policies and strategies based on evidence.
3. Climate change and disaster national policies and tools are relevant instruments to address climate migration concerns.
4. Global climate policy needs to be connected to global migration policy.
5. The facilitation of regular international migration pathways should be considered in the context of climate change.
6. The issue of internal displacement due to the adverse impacts of climate change is clearly acknowledged.
7. The adverse impacts of climate change on human mobility can only be addressed through a collaborative approach, including affected communities and individuals.
8. The UNFCCC needs to continue and step up its efforts to address climate change and migration challenges, through a cross cutting approach.
9. The United Nations system is strongly called upon to respond to climate change and mobility challenges.
10. The recommendations do not elaborate on gender and human rights issues.
The adoption of the recommendations of the Task Force on Displacement, as put forward by the Excom/WIM, comes at the end of a two-year long collaborative process. This adoption represents an important milestone in the global governance of migration and climate change as it reflects the political will of many States to address a challenge that has repercussions in all regions of the world and in a long-term perspective.
Many challenges lie ahead, including how to translate these recommendations into activities that directly support States and migrants. Operationalizing the recommendations will be one of the areas of focus of IOM’s programme of work on climate change and migration, building on its 25 years of expertise on the topic.
The Environment Is Changing:
Is the Migrant Caravan a Consequence?
by Ileana Sînziana Pușcaș and Pablo Escribano, IOM MECC
Migration, for some, is a story of achievement, adventure and solidarity. For others, migration means danger, discrimination and loss. But sometimes the most vulnerable are those who cannot move at all and remain trapped in poverty, homelessness and violence. The story of those traveling in the migrant caravan is a combination of these scenarios.
The migrant caravan from Central America became frontline news in October 2018. Initial figures of about 3,000 migrants travelling northwards were quoted as composing the original caravan, but accounts quickly diverged as many other migrants joined the journey and population monitoring became challenging. Around the end of October 2018, about 7,200 migrants were said to participate in the caravan, while misinformation and politically driven agendas paved the way for larger estimations. On 11th of December, the Government of Mexico reported around 7,000 migrants to have arrived in Tijuana and Mexicali via the migrant caravan, after having prepared for the arrival of around 10,000 people.
The lack of reliable information prevents us from understanding the multiple drivers behind the migrant caravan, including the role of climate change and environmental degradation. Filling the data and information gap on the links between migration, environment and climate change is a step toward ensuring the safety, dignity and protection of migrants, including those in the caravan.
Rural Migration from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico Linked to the Effects of Climate Change
6-7 December 2018, El Salvador
by Pablo Escribano, MECC Regional Specialist for the Americas
The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) convened the second meeting of the Alliance to address rural migration from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Mexico. IOM delivered a presentation on the latest trends of migration in Mesoamerica, including returns from Mexico and the United States. The meeting served to discuss several studies under finalization on different angles of rural migration, including due to the adverse impacts of climate change. In particular, ECLAC’s Atlas of Migration in the Northern Countries of Central America, to which IOM contributed, highlights the impacts of climate change on livelihoods in rural areas of these countries in terms of droughts, decreased agricultural productivity and labour opportunities as well as emergencies linked to disasters.
The Science-Policy Interface: Working Towards
Evidence-Based Policy on Environmental Migration
by Rebecca Parrish, University College London PhD Candidate and IOM MECC
As the threat of climate change to our societies and ecosystems increases, decision-makers require strong, evidence-based policies in the field of environmental migration — now more than ever. Yet, there are perennial challenges to the achievement of these goals. Uncertainty within the field of environmental migration science, the multi-causal nature of migration, and the inherently subjective nature of the relevant human factors all contribute to the challenge. Environmental migration science and effective migration policy struggle to cope with these issues — can better science provide an answer? How can decision-makers and scientists work more closely in order to achieve successful, evidence-based migration policy?
