Migration, Environment and Climate Change (MECC) Updates
From the Climate Action Summit to UNFCCC COP25
through UNCCD COP14: An Analysis
by Dina Ionesco and Mariam Traore Chazalnoël, IOM MECC
As the second week of the 25th Climate Change Conference (COP25) is ongoing, discussions around climate change and migration are focusing around the review of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage, and the role of the Task Force on Displacement.
In parallel to the official negotiations, the second week also represents an opportunity to build upon the outcomes of the Secretary General New York Climate Action Summit (23 September 2019), where States made commitments on adaptation and mitigation that could be instrumental to address climate drivers of migration, especially in Small Island Developing States.
COP25 discussions are also building on the 14th Conference of the Parties (COP14) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), which took place in New Delhi (2 to 13 September 2019), where parties adopted a migration-centered decision on the positive role that measures taken under the Convention can play to address desertification/land degradation and drought drivers of migration (Decision 19/COP.14).
António Vitorino, IOM Director General, and Fekitamoeloa Katoa ‘Utoikamanu, Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for LDCs, LLDCs and SIDS, at the Climate Action Summitlaunch the joint publication on:
"Climate Change and Migration in Vulnerable Countries:
A snapshot of least developed countries, landlocked developing countries
and small island developing States"
Ahead of COP25 at the 2019 IOM Council the Marshall Islands Ambassador Doreen Debrum said: "We want to remain on our islands. We are absolutely not out of time, but now is the time to act."
Policy Brief Series Issue 2 | Vol. 5 : Migration, environment and climate change in coastal cities in Indonesia
Authors: Adriana Sierra Leal, Meylin Gonzales Huaman
This policy brief examines the relationship between migration, environment and climate change in coastal areas in Indonesia, where over 70 per cent of the population lives in low-elevation coastal zones (LECZs). The brief argues that migration can be a necessary and positive long-term adaptation strategy if well managed and calls for integration of environmental migration into national frameworks for adaptation and broader development plans.
