Groundswell Report: World Bank

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• Recently, the World Bank released a Groundswell report.

Major Findings of the report 

• Migration: Sub-Saharan Africa will have the largest number of internal climate refugees by 2050.
  • 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 
    • Eastern Europe and Central Asia, five million.
• Causes: Climate change can force some 216 million people to move within their own countries by 2050,
  • Hotspots of internal climate migration can emerge as early as 2030 and continue to spread and intensify by 2050.
    • 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.

• Required Actions: It 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.
  • Planning is needed both in the areas where people will move to and in the areas they leave to help those who remain.
• Recommendations: The report provides a series of policy recommendations that can help slow the factors driving climate migration and prepare for expected migration flows, including:

• Reducing global emissions and making every effort to meet the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement.
• Embedding internal climate migration in far-sighted green, resilient, and inclusive development planning.
• Preparing for each phase of migration, so that internal climate migration as an adaptation strategy can result in positive development outcomes.
• Investing in a better understanding of the drivers of internal climate migration to inform well-targeted policies.

Global Efforts to address and  climate change and Migration issues

• The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was created in 1992 as the main forum for international action on climate change. 195 countries have joined the international agreement (known as a convention).
  • It holds negotiations focus on four key areas:
    • Mitigating (reducing) greenhouse gas emissions.
    • Adapting to climate change.
    • Reporting of national emissions.
    • Financing of climate action in developing countries.
  • It commits all signatory nations to formulate, implement, publish and update measures to prepare for the impacts of climate change, known as ‘adaptation’. 
  • In 2010, the Cancun Adaptation Framework was adopted and it was agreed that adaptation must be given the same priority as mitigation.
    • The framework calls for further action on adaptation including reducing vulnerability and increasing resilience to climate change in developing countries.
• Paris Agreement: It is a landmark agreement as it brings all nations into a common cause to undertake ambitious efforts to combat climate change and adapt to its effects, for the first time.
  • It is a legally binding international treaty on climate change that replaced the Kyoto Protocol, an earlier related agreement.
  • It was adopted by 196 parties at COP 21 in Paris, in December 2015 and entered into force in November 2016.
  • Conference of Parties (COP) is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
  • Aims: To limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius as compared to pre-industrial levels.

       (Image Courtesy: WEF)

• Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030: It was adopted at the Third UN World Conference in Sendai, Japan, on March 18, 2015.
  • It applies to the risk of small-scale and large-scale, frequent and infrequent, sudden and slow-onset disasters caused by natural or man-made hazards, as well as related environmental, technological and biological hazards and risks.
• Major G20 Environment Related Initiatives

• Global Coral Reef Research and Development Accelerator Platform to accelerate scientific knowledge and technology development in support of coral reef survival, conservation, resilience, adaptation and restoration.
• Circular Carbon Economy (CCE) Platform as a tool towards affordable, reliable, and secure energy and economic growth.

•  Global Compact on Refugees: On 17 December 2018, the United Nations General Assembly affirmed the Global Compact on Refugees, after two years of extensive consultations led by UNHCR with the Member States, international organizations, refugees, civil society, the private sector, and experts.
  • It is a framework for more predictable and equitable responsibility-sharing, recognizing that a sustainable solution to refugee situations cannot be achieved without international cooperation. 
  • It provides a blueprint for governments, international organizations, and other stakeholders to ensure that host communities get the support they need and that refugees can lead productive lives. 

• International Organization for Migration (IOM):  Established in 1951, IOM is the leading intergovernmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners.

• It has 173 member states and it is dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration for the benefit of all. It does so by providing services and advice to governments and migrants.

India’s Efforts in this direction 

• India has made remarkable commitments to tackle climate change and is on track to achieve its Paris Agreement targets.
• India’s renewable energy capacity is the fourth largest in the world.
• India has an ambitious target of achieving 450 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2030.
• Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), announced in 2017 to pool best practices and resources from around the world for reshaping construction, transportation, energy, telecommunication and water.
• An India-France joint initiative of International Solar Alliance (ISA) with an aim to reduce carbon footprint.
• Various National Schemes like National Action Plan on Climate Change, National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), National Biofuel Policy, etc
• India became an  International Organization for Migration (IOM) Member State on 18 June 2008. 
  • Since then, IOM in India has implemented several projects in various areas, including counter-trafficking, labour migration, and migrant assistance.

Source: DTH