Displacement has been largely missing from the UNFCCC dialogue until fairly recently. In 2015 the UNFCCC Task Force on Displacement was formed out of a collection of experts on displacement who bring a wide variety of perspectives, from humanitarian to development to youth and beyond. Due to their collective expertise and common knowledge, they were able to really hit the ground running. One of their challenges was expanding beyond the Geneva-centric global perspective, so they hosted a 3-day workshop that brought together stakeholders from civil society groups, NGOs, and governments around the world to inform the task force’s direction. Based on that input, the task force created their first work plan with a series of 22 initial recommendations. Through that process, they realized that there were several critical gaps in the literature, which led to the commissioning of analytical briefs and studies on topics such as mapping and slow-onset hazards. The goal, as the task force sees it, is to share the expertise and knowledge that already exists on displacement with the climate change community, rather than reinventing the wheel entirely. Thus far, they have not gotten specific on climate change-induced displacement, which is the direction the second work-plan will take.
A tension point for the task force members is that although climate change is a factor in displacement, there is a great deal of displacement happening as a result of environmental factors that are not directly linked to climate change which also merit the attention of the global community. Should communities who are impacted by a volcano eruption be treated differently than those experiencing sea-level rise? Ultimately, the answer the task force has come to is no, but they are still working to create recommendations for the UNFCCC related to climate change-induced displacement that take an integrated approach.
The task force still has many questions left to answer. Could displacement measures become part of a country’s NDC? How can climate financing be channeled towards areas with high displacement risk? What policies can governments implement to support equity and dignity as it relates to displacement and migration? Luckily, the task force is not alone in finding answers to these questions. Currently, the Platform on Disaster Displacement is taking the lead on a global project on integrating displacement into NDCs and the conversation around climate change more broadly. There is no doubt that tension will remain as stakeholders outside of the displacement community grapple with the messy outcomes of climate change that intertwine with political, economic, historical, and environmental contexts, but for that reason, the work of the task force is essential to the promotion of equity when displacement occurs.
