The UN is launching a new Climate Resilience Fund aimed at increasing protection for refugees and displaced communities threatened by climate change.
UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said it aims to raise US$100 million in new funds by the end of next year to protect refugees, their host communities and home countries most affected by the climate emergency.
In a statement Wednesday (24/4), the agency said climate risks were strongly correlated with the conflict and poverty experienced by many refugees.
In 2022, more than 70% of refugees and asylum seekers fled countries highly vulnerable to climate change, the report said.
“The impacts of climate change are increasingly devastating, exacerbating conflict, destroying livelihoods and, ultimately, triggering displacement,” UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi said in a statement as quoted by AFP.
“Many of the countries that are most generous in accepting refugees are also the countries most impacted by the climate crisis,” he added.
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However, he warned, the funding available to address the impacts of climate change does not reach those forced to flee, nor the communities that host them.
UNHCR said its new funding will work to ensure that refugees are included in climate change-related actions taken nationally and locally. (AFP/M-3)
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