The climate crisis is above all a humanitarian emergency: in the last 10 years 21.5 million new displaced people a year, 23.7 million in 2021 alone

ROME – The climate crisis is a humanitarian emergency. Its impact is devastating across the planet, but vulnerable people, including refugees and displaced people, who live in conflict zones and fragile countries, pay the highest price. On the one hand, due to extreme weather phenomena such as floods, storms and droughts, we have registered an average of 21.5 million new displaced persons per year over the past 10 years, including 23.7 million in 2021 alone. on the other hand, climate change is a multiplier of other risk factors, first and foremost food insecurity. With the campaign “The climate crisis is a humanitarian emergency”, a few days after World Earth Day of April 22, theUNHCR raise an alarm to raise public awareness of the devastating effects of this crisis and to raise funds to help tens of millions of people at risk.

The immediate effect is the food crisis. One of the most catastrophic effects of the climate crisis is the increase in food insecurity. Food becomes increasingly inaccessible due to scarcity of water and productive land and the consequent impact on crops and food production. Food prices tend to rise, making access to food extremely difficult for many impoverished or displaced communities. Globally, an estimated 193 million people were severely food insecure and in need of urgent assistance in 2021 – an unprecedented number – across 53 countries, an increase of nearly 40 million from the previous peak reached in 2021. 2020.

Two examples: the Horn of Africa and Afghanistan. To give just a couple of examples, the Horn of Africa – the African region that includes Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya – is experiencing the worst drought in four decades now. 23 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are severely food insecure. In Afghanistan, another country hit by a severe drought, nearly 19 million people live in a condition of food insecurity. “We are creating a world in which those fleeing violence are forced to live in uninhabitable places due to the climate – explains Chiara Cardoletti, UNHCR representative for Italy, the Holy See and San Marino. And the paradox is that the countries and communities least responsible for global warming are the most affected. Perhaps most worryingly, as the impacts of the climate crisis intensify, the gap between humanitarian needs and the resources to respond to them is widening.

Affected already exhausted human beings. “Every day we witness how much the climate crisis affects above all human beings already exhausted by the effects of conflicts and the trauma of forced flight – declares Laura Iucci, director of fundraising UNHCR Italy. They are children, women and men who do not have enough food and are increasingly poor due to the increase in the price of food. It is essential – concludes Iucci – that each of us feels called into question because everyone’s support, even through a small donation, can change the lives of thousands of people”.

70% of “climate refugees” come from poor countries. More than 70% of the world’s refugees and displaced people come from the most climate-vulnerable countries, including Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria and Yemen. Most of those displaced by climate impacts remain within their own countries. Many of those who have already been forced to flee violence in vulnerable areas are again uprooted from their host territories by catastrophic storms, droughts and floods. For the most vulnerable countries and communities, which also host the majority of refugees and internally displaced people, time to adapt is running out. L’UNHCR calls on states to act urgently and collectively to combat climate change and mitigate its impact on the lives and livelihoods of millions of people around the world. It also urges states to step up protection and assistance to people displaced by natural disasters and the effects of climate change.

To support the work of UNHCR. To counter the effects of climate change on refugee and displaced populations, it is possible to donate:

– Through this link https://bit.ly/41ojAti

– Bank transfer made out to UNHCR: IBAN: IT84R0100503231000000211000. Causal: Climate crisis

– Postal payment slip on the postal current account held by UNHCR: number: 298000. Reason: Climate crisis