DUBAI: The world needs to reinject the human aspect into climate action amid a rising wave of climate-related humanitarian crises, the Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils 2024 (AMGFC24) heard today.
Experts speaking at the meeting, which represents a partnership between the UAE Government and the World Economic Forum (WEF), examined the social injustices tied to extreme weather events and environmental decline, citing examples from communities on the frontlines of climate change.
Andrew Harper, Special Adviser, Climate Action, UNHCR at the UN Refugee Agency, said: ‘More and more refugees are being impacted by both climate change and conflict. Seventy-five percent of refugees around the world have had to flee areas which are also being impacted by extreme and severe climatic conditions. They’re moving across the border into places that don’t have the capacity or resources to provide protection.’
The UNHCR registered 120 million people worldwide as forcibly displaced as of May 2024, with 8.8 million
more people displaced by the end of 2023 compared with the year before, according to data shown by Harper during the session.
The refugee crisis is being compounded by the economic strain caused by climate change, Harper said, calling for the international community to do more to fund climate resilient infrastructure in developing economies.
‘The lack of financing in adaptation, development and resilience has meant that emergency responses have had to fill the gap. The lack of funding has meant that governments and communities have not had the ability to invest in climate-smart agriculture because they’re just trying to keep the country running.’
The result of this strain is that countries are becoming more fragile, Harper said, calling for a ‘change from the rhetoric to the action’.
‘We’ve got to focus more on action. We’ve got to be accountable,’ he said.
Joining Harper was Tolu Oni, Clinical Professor of Global Public Health and Sustainable Urban Development, University of Cambridge, who spoke on the
need for creative strategies to addressing the sustainability and public health challenges created by rapid urbanisation.
‘The nature of [rapid] urbanization is very precarious,’ Oni said, describing a ‘proliferation’ of informal settlements and hazardous land use that is out of balance with natural ecosystems.
Speaking on approaches to addressing the risks of rapid urbanization, especially in developing economies where the pace is much greater, Oni impressed on the need for inclusivity when the international community designs the future of urban areas.
Reflecting on the words of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Oni said: ‘The future is not linear. It’s not something we wait to happen. The future is something that’s happening now, we’re designing and shaping it now. As we’re thinking about shaping actions, are we being future literate? By that I mean are we considering who is designing those futures? What world views are de
signing those futures? Are we leveraging collective intelligence? Are we exploring different ways of knowing?’
AMGFC24 takes place from 15th to 17th October in Dubai featuring 30 councils and over 500 participants from 80 countries, including experts, thought leaders, senior government officials, and business leaders who are helping shape the agenda of the 2025 WEF Annual Meeting in Davos.
Source: Emirates News Agency