Refugees flee conflict fuelled by climate change

Both the United Nations and the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management have issued warnings that climate change is forcing many people around the world to leave their homes, pushing up the global total of refugees to record levels.

In the run up to World Refugee Day on 20th June, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Antonio Guterres, has reported figures showing that international refugee numbers hit 11.4 million last year, 1.5 million more than the previous year.

Numbers for internally displaced peoples also saw drastic increases, rising from 24.4 million in 2006 to 26 million in 2007.

According to Guterres, climate change provokes conflict because it increases the scarcity of essential natural resources, such as water.

The increasing number of conflicts due to climate change is one of the key driving forces behind rising refugee numbers.

In addition to conflict, the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management argues that the consequences of climate change are also causing people to leave their homes in the search for resources.

Developing nations in the global south have been particularly hard hit by the consequences of climate change, which include desertification of grassland, water shortages, infertile soil, and floods.

The Institution wants to see an international agreement that legally recognises those displaced by climate change as refugees.