A World Bank report showed Monday that climate change could force 216 million across six regions in the world to move within their countries by 2050. “Hotspots of internal climate migration could emerge as early as 2030 and continue to spread and intensify by 2050”.
The World Bank’s updated “Groundswell” report finds that “immediate and concerted action to reduce global emissions and support green, inclusive, and resilient development, could reduce the scale of climate migration by as much as 80 percent.” It indicated that climate change “is a powerful driver of internal migration because of its impacts on people’s livelihoods and loss of livability in highly exposed locations. ”
By 2050, Sub-Saharan Africa could see as many as 86 million internal climate migrants; East Asia and the Pacific, 49 million; South Asia, 40 million; North Africa, 19 million; Latin America, 17 million; and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, five million,” it noted. In this regard, Vice President of Sustainable Development, World Bank Juergen Voegele said “the Groundswell report is a stark reminder of the human toll of climate change, particularly on the world’s poorest, those who are contributing the least to its causes. “It also clearly lays out a path for countries to address some of the key factors that are causing climate-driven migration,” Voegele added. “All these issues are fundamentally connected, which is why our support to countries is positioned to deliver on climate and development objectives together while building a more sustainable, safe and resilient future”.
Source- Kuna