Climate Change, Disasters and Displacement

UNHCR

The links between climate change, disasters, and other causes of displacement are now undisputed. As UNHCR’s new five-year strategic plan notes, conflict is not the only driver of displacement. In addition to
serious human rights abuses and poor governance, people are ‘on the move because of acute poverty, the collapse of traditional livelihoods in a context of globalization and rapid urbanization, the effects of climate change, natural disasters, and environmental degradation which often exacerbate competition over scarce resources. Often these various factors overlap or reinforce others.