Climate-induced forced displacement

This CBMA policy note provides a high level overview of our understanding and policy position on relevant topics, and outlines our engagement with these areas in conjunction with our partners and other areas of the organisation. 

There is a high prevalence of displacement in the regions of world most heavily impacted by climate change, with 84 per cent of refugees and asylum seekers fleeing from highly climate-vulnerable countries in 2022. In the same year, nearly one million people were displaced by drought and the threat of famine in Somalia, cyclones affected tens of thousands of people in Mozambique who were already displaced by violence, and frequent hurricanes in Honduras drove displacement. People with disabilities, who experience higher rates of poverty and inadequate housing, are more likely to be displaced by disasters due to heightened exposure and vulnerability to environmental hazards, however their ability to migrate from these conditions is constrained.

Climate-induced disasters contribute heavily to forced displacement. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) reported that in 2021 one displacement per second occurred due to extreme weather events. Most people displaced in this context are likely to be internally displaced, however cross-border migration can also occur. Events such as floods, cyclone, and tsunamis are all examples of extreme climate-related events that directly trigger forced displacement, however slow onset events like sea level rise and desertification are also drivers of displacement. 

Terms such as ‘forced environmental migration’ have been used to describe the movement of people away from regions significantly affected by climate change – often to other areas within their own country – as an adaptation strategy. This can be understood as a form of displacement in that the decision to move is a result of climate change. For people with disabilities, however, they are not as easily able to flee and are more likely to remain trapped in dangerous environments. 

Climate-induced conflict is a key – yet perhaps more complex – driver of displacement. One way that climate change leads to conflict is competition over shrinking resources stemming from environmental degradation. In 2022, intercommunal violence erupted in the north of Cameroon over dwindling water resources leading to tens of thousands fleeing. Another way that resource depletion can lead to conflict is by contributing to the conditions for political unrest. While not primarily a climate-induced conflict, analysis of the civil uprising in Syria in 2011 notes than the region experienced record drought from 2007 to 2010, leading to massive crop failure and resultant unemployment. As many as 10.5 million people were displaced to urban centres, contributing to the social environment for political unrest.

CBM Australia (CBMA) is committed to addressing the impacts of climate change on people with disabilities in countries in the Indo-Pacific region. The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) has stated that inhabitants of developing island states in the Pacific are some of the populations most at risk of disaster-induced displacement. In its submission to the International Disability Equity and Rights Strategy (IDEARS) which is set to be released in 2024, CBMA calls for climate change and humanitarian strategies to be inclusive of people with disabilities, with a strong emphasis of meaningful inclusion and participation of people with disabilities in disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation planning. This will become increasingly important as the impacts of climate change grow. 

CBMA supports a ‘twin-track approach’ to humanitarian action which involves mainstreaming disability inclusion alongside disability-specific programming that directly benefits people with disabilities. An increase in inclusive data is crucial to this process so that people with disabilities are counted and no longer left behind due to programming which is not accessible for people with disability.  

To facilitate this, the Inter-Agency Standing Committee Guidelines on the Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities in Humanitarian Action, released in 2019, are an important mechanism for agencies to develop humanitarian programs that involve people with disability in both the design and implementation process. The Guidelines also relate to displaced people with disabilities, who often face barriers to accessing shelter and evacuation centres and WASH facilities.