United Nations Radio

With the Copenhagen Climate Change Conference only weeks away, the international community has been exhaustively debating strategies to counter global warming. The UN Refugee Agency, however, says that while prevention of climate change is undoubtedly a key priority, not enough attention has been given to protecting those already affected by global warming. Kit Cockburn spoke with Jean Francois Durieux, Director of the Division of Operational Support Services and Focal Point for Climate Change Issues at UNHCR, who says that people are already being displaced by climate change on a daily basis.

DURIEUX: There's about one disaster a day on this planet. If we stick to only to quick onset disasters, so the real catastrophes that just land on you, then countries like Bangladesh are seeing at least twice the number of storms per year that they did 15 years ago. The same is true in the Caribbean, where you may not have more storms but they are more and more violent, and we know why they're more violent: because the sea water is warmer. So we can see that, because each of these events, whether it's Katrina in the US, Mitch in Central America or Nargis in Burma, creates death but also massive displacement. And it's happening more and more.

COCKBURN: Efforts to help those displaced, however, are complicated by a tricky issue of terminology.

DURIEUX: 'Climate refugee' that's a category that does not exist in international law. It's actually a term that scares countries on both sides. For countries like Bangladesh which have been very vocal on the question of the social and human consequences of climate change, what they are also sayings is that they don't want to be seen as a refugee producing country. So that's interesting, because at the other end of the spectrum you also have countries like the US, Australia the European countries, who also don't like the refugee analogy because they don't want to be burdened with the responsibilities to receive and keep people who will have to migrate because of climate change.

COCKBURN: This unwitting collusion between richer and poor states amounts to kind of conspiracy of silence, which allows both parties to conveniently ignore the problem. Mr. Durieux says that many displaced people have been left without international protection as a result.

DURIEUX: I'm sure thousands of people who had to leave their country one day because of the slow degradation of the environment. Sometimes compounded by interethnic violence or a bad political regime, and these people are already here, and many of them are illegal because they cannot be recognized as a refugee. The world frankly and here I'm especially saying the rich world is not ready to sign off on this thing that says anybody that leaves a country which is in bad shape is a refugee. That's not going to happen. So I think that, do these people need international protection -- yes, many of them do.

COCKBURN: So, with displacement set to be an increasing trend, the UN Refugee Agency say that legal and operational gaps need to be filled to ensure appropriate and pre-emptive support for 'climate refugees'. Most urgent still, however, is an increase in financial resources:

DURIEUX: Agencies that are involved in this work - we're completely overwhelmed. The Red Crosses of this world can no longer, I mean they are at breaking point. So there we have to inject resources. I think if we're serious about reversing the effects of climate change we have to look at both sides. In reducing and curbing carbon emissions and our role in helping people to adapt, to adjust and when adaptation fails then we have to offer them something.

PRES: Jean Francois Durieux, Focal Point for Climate Change Issues at UNHCR. For UN Radio, I'm Kit Cockburn.

duration: 3'20"