Decisive collective action can reduce climate migration by as much as 80%
Sub-Saharan Africa will have the largest number of internal climate refugees by 2050 according to a new World Bank report. Photo: Julien Harneis via Wikimedia Commons Climate change can force some 216 million people in six world regions to move within their own countries by 2050, a recent report has stated. Hotspots of internal climate migration can emerge as early as 2030 and continue to spread and intensify by 2050, the report added.
It also found that immediate and concerted action to reduce global emissions and support green, inclusive and resilient development, could reduce the scale of climate migration by as much as 80 per cent.
The World Bank’s updated Groundswell report was released September 13, 2021.
Climate change is a powerful driver of internal migration because of its impacts on people’s livelihoods and loss of livability in highly exposed locations, the report said.
By 2050, sub-Saharan Africa could see as many as 86 million internal climate migrants; east Asia and the Pacific, 49 million; south Asia, 40 million; north Africa, 19 million; Latin America, 17 million and eastern Europe and Central Asia, five million.
“The Groundswell report is a stark reminder of the human toll of climate change, particularly on the world’s poorest — those who are contributing the least to its causes. It also clearly lays out a path for countries to address some of the key factors that are causing climate-driven migration,” Juergen Voegele, vice-president of sustainable development, World Bank, was quoted as saying in a statement.
“All these issues are fundamentally connected which is why our support to countries is positioned to deliver on climate and development objectives together while building a more sustainable, safe and resilient future,” he added.
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