{"id":26705,"date":"2018-01-15T11:16:47","date_gmt":"2018-01-15T10:16:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/?p=26705"},"modified":"2018-02-12T08:38:57","modified_gmt":"2018-02-12T07:38:57","slug":"why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/","title":{"rendered":"Why UNHCR is taking action on climate change displacement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">From her office at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva, Erica Bower keeps track of the wildfires ravaging Santa Rosa, California. For weeks it has destroyed homes and consumed possessions, forcing thousands to flee and taking the lives of dozens of people. Most scientists agree that climate change contributed to the elevated temperatures and drought-dried vegetation that made the flames especially hard to contain. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cClimate change is clearly one of the largest challenges facing our planet in the 21st century,\u201d says Bower, an Associate Climate Change and Disaster Displacement Officer. \u201cOne only has to turn on the T.V. to see storm after storm and flood after flood and drought after drought and wildfire after wildfire.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Her relatives\u2019 Santa Rosa home was completely ruined. But with a strong social support network and the financial security to bounce back, they are the lucky ones. Many families in California suffered deeply, but homes will be rebuilt, residents and tourists will return, and life will go on.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Those kinds of financial security and support networks are not universal. Communities around the world are unable to bear the burden of disasters. In many of them, when people are forced from their homes, they are unlikely to ever return. \u00a0And with climate change both causing displacement and complicating responses to it, Bower believes UNHCR has an important role to play in contributing to the international community\u2019s response.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The reality of climate change and displacement<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s a tendency to think of climate change as a futuristic threat: one to start preparing for before it\u2019s too late. Bower says, it\u2019s already here. And the effects are evident today. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Weather-related disasters already force an average of 21.8 million people to flee their homes every year, <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.internal-displacement.org\/global-report\/grid2017\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. Vulnerable populations are more likely to be displaced by climate change impacts and remain displaced for a longer time. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In some places, the geographies of climate change and displacement overlap, creating a melee of factors that confuse analysis of how best to tackle either. In others, climate change issues or disasters follow on the heels of conflict-related displacement, complicating the international community\u2019s response to both. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sudden onset disasters like hurricanes or earthquakes lead people to rush out of their homes quickly, leading to different protection needs than slow-building crises like drought, erosion or sea level rise. But communities can easily fall victim to both, or both at once, like a coastal area that suffers the devastation and damage of repeated storms due to depleted barrier islands and deforestation. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Climate change can also affect the idea of \u2018safe and dignified\u2019 return, completely changing the idea of what a durable solution is. \u201cYou can\u2019t expect someone to return when their island is submerged or their land is rendered uninhabitable by desertification,\u201d Bower says. \u201cI would argue that many assumptions that underpin the whole \u2018solutions\u2019 paradigm need to be rethought.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>Relevant protection frameworks <\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Most climate change displacement is internal, not cross-border. These persons are protected by Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement. While some displaced people may be refugees under criteria of the 1951 Refugee Convention, the 1969 OAU Convention or the Cartagena Declaration, most will not fit these criteria. There is still a legal gap in their protection. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Roundtables, conferences, and state-led initiatives have resulted in commitments by countries to prevent and to address cross-border climate displacement. In 2015, 109 governmental delegations endorsed the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda, which identifies tools to help states prevent, prepare for, and address \u201cprotection needs of people displaced across borders in the context of disasters and climate change.\u201d And in 2016, The Platform on Disaster Displacement was launched to ensure implementation of this Protection Agenda. States are already using the tools it provides, such as humanitarian visas or temporary protection and stay arrangements, but administration is not always harmonised or systematic. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">People who\u2019ve been driven by their homes by disasters may need assistance and protection. While state practice is emerging, questions remain as to how the world can respond, and at what pace. <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>UNHCR and climate change displacement today<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNHCR is playing a growing role in addressing climate change displacement. And despite more and more frequent headlines, it\u2019s not a new focus: UNHCR has been working on how to tackle the issue since the mid-2000s.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNHCR continues to work with states to develop the legal and policy approaches that would provide protection for people affected by climate change displacement. A lot of this work involves enhancing protections for IDPs, supporting the Nansen Initiative Protection Agenda and the Platform on Disaster Displacement. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But it\u2019s not all conference calls and policy briefs. Costa Rica and Panama recently led a bi-national workshop where they simulated a disaster and both sides had to deal in real-time with the virtual fallout. \u201cI think it\u2019s quite novel,\u201d Bower says. \u201cThat\u2019s the type of initiative that\u2019s really forward thinking and will get actors to plan for these responses in the future.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNHCR has also developed guidelines for temporary protections like the ones the persons displaced across Panama border in the simulation exercise might have needed. And it works in a lot of different fora to promote coherence on protection for disaster displaced people across other policy agreements like the Sendai framework on disaster risk reduction, the global forum on migration and development, the Global Compacts on Refugees and Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration, sustainable development goals, and others. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Another critical forum where UNHCR engages on this issue is by providing technical support at the climate change negotiations to Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. \u201cAt first, UNFCCC Parties focused on mitigation of greenhouse gases. Then, it turned to adaptation,\u201d explains Bower. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In the last five years, she says, discussions turned toward loss and damage: What happens when we can\u2019t adapt to climate change and communities experience tangible losses and damage\u2014including loss of their heritage and culture? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In this context, UNHCR participates in the Warsaw International Mechanism on Loss and Damage Task Force on Displacement, which Bower says was an important platform to talk to a whole new set of stakeholders like climate change experts and Ministries of Environment, and get them to recognise the importance of displacement. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThe new challenge now is to identify what the Task Force recommendations can add that is new and unique and complements other efforts such as the Platform on Disaster Displacement,\u201d Bower says. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Transferring technologies like early warning systems from country to country would be one example. Using forecasting to be better prepared and respond faster is another. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Today, on the ground responses are not often on the table. Three conditions must be met before the UNHCR will get involved in this way: There has to be an existing UNHCR presence, the government of the affected country must request UNHCR intervention and it must be part of an interagency response. These conditions were met in situations including the recent earthquakes in Mexico and Ecuador, after typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines and during drought and famine in Somalia. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Even though protecting those internally displaced by climate change is not a core role for UNHCR, she says, \u201cit\u2019s a reality and it\u2019s going to keep happening more and more with climate change exacerbating the frequency of these events.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<h2><b>The question of global leadership<\/b><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Governments are responding to the growing crisis. But they\u2019re doing so in ad hoc, reactive ways. One of the roles UNCHR can play is to help coordinate the responses to these challenges, and make sure the international community is being innovative and forward-thinking in creating frameworks and approaches to dealing with climate change displacement. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cRight now, the way UNHCR and a lot of the humanitarian world addresses these issues is from a crisis management approach,\u201d says Bower. \u201cIt\u2019s focused on the here and now and what\u2019s at stake today.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That makes sense for a lot of reasons, she adds. Limited budgets, for instance, a constant rotation of staff, and the sheer scale of existing displacement crises. \u201cIt\u2019s overwhelming how much trauma already exists on this planet. It\u2019s hard to think about long-term trends and future risks.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But Bower believes shifting from a crisis management approach toward one of risk management\u2014one that instead of looking three or ten years down the line looks 30 or 100\u2014would be a big step forward. \u201cWe owe it to the future to start to build the infrastructure and institutions and conceptual approaches to respond,\u201d she says. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UNHCR is taking baby steps in the right direction. Its Multi-Partner Protection and Solutions Strategies are stretching planning documents in country operations from one year\u2019s focus to three. Now looking ahead, there\u2019s a lot the organization can do, like build better partnerships within the disaster risk reduction and climate change communities and even the private sector. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">By looking at future risk as an integral part of the planning process, UNHCR can make sure solutions to displacement automatically include measures to prevent future displacement. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u201cThis future risk question has to be integrated across everything UNHCR does,\u201d Bower says. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If she was in charge? UNHCR would be bold, and not shy away from the realities of climate change and disaster displacement. To those who say that kind of focus is mission creep, Bower says not at all. UNHCR does not need to be the one to lead climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction activities, but it does need to collaborate with partners whose work intersects with protection. After all, these issues are already affecting the organization\u2019s populations of concern and intertwining themselves in existing displacement situations. It is no longer just about supporting people who\u2019ve been displaced, but about proactively supporting them to be more resilient and reduce the chance of displacement when disasters strike.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That could even mean helping them with planned relocation, as a last resort, something the government of Fiji is already piloting and a move Bower thinks UNHCR could play a bigger role in developing tools and guidance for. \u201cBecause it\u2019s about protection,\u201d she says. \u201cThis is what protection means.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Interventions like these are outside the norm, and certainly UNHCR\u2019s current comfort zone. But they\u2019re approaches that fit with a new reality. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">After all, Bower says, \u201cThe rules of the game are changing.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><em>This\u00a0essay was originally posted in the recently released report: UNHCR Innovation Service: Year in Review 2017.\u00a0This report highlights and showcases some of the innovative approaches the organization is taking to address complex refugee challenges and discover new opportunities. You can view the full <a href=\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/year-review-2017\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Year in Review microsite and download the publication here.<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From her office at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva, Erica Bower keeps track of the wildfires ravaging Santa Rosa, California. For weeks it has destroyed homes and consumed possessions, forcing thousands to flee and taking the lives of dozens of people. Most scientists agree that climate change contributed to the elevated temperatures and drought-dried vegetation that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":26725,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[542,659],"tags":[519,671],"class_list":["post-26705","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-future","category-year-in-review-2017","tag-climate-change-displacement","tag-un-framework-convention-on-climate-change"],"acf":{"author":"","authors_title":""},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why UNHCR is taking action on climate change displacement - UNHCR Innovation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Why UNHCR is taking action on climate change displacement - UNHCR Innovation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From her office at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva, Erica Bower keeps track of the wildfires ravaging Santa Rosa, California. For weeks it has destroyed homes and consumed possessions, forcing thousands to flee and taking the lives of dozens of people. Most scientists agree that climate change contributed to the elevated temperatures and drought-dried vegetation that [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UNHCR Innovation\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UNHCRInnovation\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-01-15T10:16:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-02-12T07:38:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/RF1104940_60803-e1516011359951.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1333\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Lauren Parater\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@UNHCRInnovation\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@UNHCRInnovation\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Lauren Parater\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Lauren Parater\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#\/schema\/person\/f197de84fe715f55e91cb34cdadf902b\"},\"headline\":\"Why UNHCR is taking action on climate change displacement\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-15T10:16:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-02-12T07:38:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/\"},\"wordCount\":1781,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/RF1104940_60803-e1516011359951.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"climate change displacement\",\"UN Framework Convention on Climate Change\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Future\",\"Year in Review 2017\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/\",\"name\":\"Why UNHCR is taking action on climate change displacement - UNHCR Innovation\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/RF1104940_60803-e1516011359951.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-01-15T10:16:47+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-02-12T07:38:57+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/RF1104940_60803-e1516011359951.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/RF1104940_60803-e1516011359951.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1333,\"caption\":\"South Sudan \/ Sudan Refugees \/ Refugees from Sudan run towards a lake formed by flood water in order to fish for mudfish, near the town of Yida, in South Sudan. Yida is situated only a few kilometres from the Sudanese border and has become home to thousands of Sudanese refugees fleeing fighting in the border states as well as to 17,000 IDP\u2019s fleeing fighting between government troops and anti-government rebels within South Sudan. With few resources many refugee children and internally displaced South Sudanese children have turned to fishing, both as a source of food and also as a source of income. Income that some of the children use pay for school items such as exercise books and fees. UNHCR \/ A. McConnell \/ November 2014\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Why UNHCR is taking action on climate change displacement\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/\",\"name\":\"UNHCR Innovation\",\"description\":\"Innovation starts with people\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#organization\",\"name\":\"UNHCR\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/CFR-UNHCR-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/CFR-UNHCR-logo.png\",\"width\":1466,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"UNHCR\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UNHCRInnovation\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/UNHCRInnovation\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/unhcrinnovation\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#\/schema\/person\/f197de84fe715f55e91cb34cdadf902b\",\"name\":\"Lauren Parater\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/15e0b7d58755e296842afd6ef363338d496c82ead32ee0a5308e61afb0ae44f7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/15e0b7d58755e296842afd6ef363338d496c82ead32ee0a5308e61afb0ae44f7?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Lauren Parater\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/author\/lparater\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why UNHCR is taking action on climate change displacement - UNHCR Innovation","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Why UNHCR is taking action on climate change displacement - UNHCR Innovation","og_description":"From her office at UNHCR Headquarters in Geneva, Erica Bower keeps track of the wildfires ravaging Santa Rosa, California. For weeks it has destroyed homes and consumed possessions, forcing thousands to flee and taking the lives of dozens of people. Most scientists agree that climate change contributed to the elevated temperatures and drought-dried vegetation that [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/","og_site_name":"UNHCR Innovation","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UNHCRInnovation\/","article_published_time":"2018-01-15T10:16:47+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-02-12T07:38:57+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1333,"url":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/RF1104940_60803-e1516011359951.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Lauren Parater","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@UNHCRInnovation","twitter_site":"@UNHCRInnovation","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Lauren Parater","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/"},"author":{"name":"Lauren Parater","@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#\/schema\/person\/f197de84fe715f55e91cb34cdadf902b"},"headline":"Why UNHCR is taking action on climate change displacement","datePublished":"2018-01-15T10:16:47+00:00","dateModified":"2018-02-12T07:38:57+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/"},"wordCount":1781,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/RF1104940_60803-e1516011359951.jpg","keywords":["climate change displacement","UN Framework Convention on Climate Change"],"articleSection":["Future","Year in Review 2017"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/","url":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/","name":"Why UNHCR is taking action on climate change displacement - UNHCR Innovation","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/RF1104940_60803-e1516011359951.jpg","datePublished":"2018-01-15T10:16:47+00:00","dateModified":"2018-02-12T07:38:57+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/RF1104940_60803-e1516011359951.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/01\/RF1104940_60803-e1516011359951.jpg","width":2000,"height":1333,"caption":"South Sudan \/ Sudan Refugees \/ Refugees from Sudan run towards a lake formed by flood water in order to fish for mudfish, near the town of Yida, in South Sudan. Yida is situated only a few kilometres from the Sudanese border and has become home to thousands of Sudanese refugees fleeing fighting in the border states as well as to 17,000 IDP\u2019s fleeing fighting between government troops and anti-government rebels within South Sudan. With few resources many refugee children and internally displaced South Sudanese children have turned to fishing, both as a source of food and also as a source of income. Income that some of the children use pay for school items such as exercise books and fees. UNHCR \/ A. McConnell \/ November 2014"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/why-unhcr-is-taking-action-on-climate-change-displacement\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Why UNHCR is taking action on climate change displacement"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/","name":"UNHCR Innovation","description":"Innovation starts with people","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#organization","name":"UNHCR","url":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/CFR-UNHCR-logo.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/06\/CFR-UNHCR-logo.png","width":1466,"height":600,"caption":"UNHCR"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/UNHCRInnovation\/","https:\/\/x.com\/UNHCRInnovation","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/unhcrinnovation"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#\/schema\/person\/f197de84fe715f55e91cb34cdadf902b","name":"Lauren Parater","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/15e0b7d58755e296842afd6ef363338d496c82ead32ee0a5308e61afb0ae44f7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/15e0b7d58755e296842afd6ef363338d496c82ead32ee0a5308e61afb0ae44f7?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Lauren Parater"},"url":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/author\/lparater\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26705","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=26705"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26705\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26839,"href":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/26705\/revisions\/26839"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/26725"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=26705"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=26705"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.unhcr.org\/innovation\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=26705"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}