A UN report released on Tuesday in Baku, on the sidelines of COP29, has revealed that climate change is turning out to be an additional and growing threat to millions already suffering from war, violence and persecution.

The new report warns that the situation is getting grave without the funding and
support to adapt for the population exposed to climate risk.

The report, released on Tuesday by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), in collaboration with 13 expert organisations, research institutions and refugee-led groups, uses the latest data to show how climate shocks are interacting with conflict, pushing those who are already in danger into even more dire situations.

Recently in Baku, the head of the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) admitted to The Telegraph that though there has been no study yet, it is quite clear that war has a long-term impact on climate change.

“Of the more than 120 million forcibly displaced worldwide, three-quarters live in countries heavily impacted by climate change. Half are in places affected by both conflict and serious climate hazards, such as Ethiopia, Haiti, Myanmar, Somalia, Sudan and Syria” reads the UNHCR report.

The report — No Escape: On the Frontlines of Climate Change, Conflict and Forced Displacement — claims that by 2040 the number of countries facing extreme climate-related hazards may rise from three to 65, the vast majority of which will host displaced people. Similarly, most refugee settlements and camps are projected to experience twice as many days of dangerous heat by 2050.

“For the world’s most vulnerable people, climate change is a harsh reality that profoundly affects their lives. It is driving displacement in regions already hosting large numbers of people uprooted by conflict and insecurity, compounding their plight and leaving them with nowhere safe to go,” the UN high commissioner for refugees, Filippo Grandi, told this correspondent on the sidelines of the climate meet on Tuesday.

The report referred to several countries in this context.

“…The devastating conflict in Sudan has forced millions of people to flee, including 700,000 who have crossed into Chad, which has hosted refugees for decades and yet is one of the countries most exposed to climate change ... Similarly, 72 per cent of Myanmar’s refugees have sought safety in Bangladesh, where natural hazards such as cyclones and flooding, are classified as extreme.”

The report also highlights that climate financing is failing to reach refugees, and communities in fragile and war-torn countries, eating up their already compromised ability to adapt to the effects of climate change.

“At present, extremely fragile states receive only around $2 per person in annual adaptation funding, an astounding shortfall when compared to $161 per person in non-fragile states,” said Jana Birnar, a UNHCR official, who pointed out that people in South Asian countries, including India, are facing high climatic impacts despite not contributing much to the problem.

The UN agency’s warning found got an echo in a demand made by a group of Palestine experts who claimed a huge climate devastation in Gaza
inflicted by the war and demanded that an energy embargo should be imposed on Israel.

“More than 43,000 killed and counting, with estimates that the final figure will be much higher, reaching into the hundreds of thousands, and virtually every single hospital, school and university razed to the ground. Satellite analysis shows that 44-52 per cent of all trees are lost, with destruction of 65 sq km of farmland, and damages to 7,500 greenhouses,” claimed the Palestine report published in Echo in Baku, a daily publication run by the Climate Action Network, a pan-global civil society platform.

“Essential services have collapsed with 70,000 tonnes of solid waste accumulated and 100,000 cubic metres of raw sewage flowing into the sea daily, creating severe public health risks. Contamination remains a major risk with 25,000+ tonnes of explosives used, resulting in 22.9 million tonnes of hazardous debris containing heavy metals, explosive compounds, and industrial contaminants,” stated the report.

The Palestine group appealed to the delegates to focus on the issue of war-inflicted climatic impacts in Palestine.

“You all have come to COP to work for a better planet; do it right. Contaminated land and water and polluted air recognise no borders… If COP29 is to be remembered as more than another venue for empty promises, its delegates must heed the voices of the people … there can be no climate justice without human rights; energy embargo now.”