Foreign Minister Dr. A. K. Abdul Momen emphasized the importance of targeted policy interventions for climate migrants as part of the global commitment to ‘leave no one behind’ while addressing at the High-Level Breakfast of the Climate Mobility Summit on ‘Harnessing Climate Mobility for Adaptation and Resilience’ held on 20 September 2023 on the sidelines of the 78th UN General Assembly in New York.
Dr. Momen also urged for mainstreaming of the issue of climate mobility in both climate change and migration discourses. He further emphasized the need to establish international financing mechanisms to support climate migrants, including the proposed loss and damage fund.
The Foreign Minister also highlighted Bangladesh’s climate vulnerability and the challenges posed by climate-induced displacement of approximately 650,000 people every year. He shared various actions taken by the government to address climate-induced displacements in the country, including the world’s largest climate migrants’ rehabilitation project in Cox’s Bazar.
Moderated by Amy Pope, Director General-elect of International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the event was co-hosted by Bangladesh, Tuvalu, Niger, Botswana, Tonga, Comoros, Guatemala as well as, IOM, President of the UN General Assembly and UN Global Centre of Climate Mobility.
Heads of state/government, Ministers and the high officials of various UN agencies took part in the discussion. The leaders underscored the gravity of the climate crisis, pointing out that by 2050, over 200 million people could be forced to leave their homes due to climate change impacts.
The leaders stressed that women and girls, young people, individuals with disabilities, and indigenous communities suffer disproportionately from these effects. The timely mobilization of resources for climate finance and the implementation of early warning systems and data management were highlighted as crucial aspects of any solution.