Why this initiative: Many countries, especially Least Developed Countries, are experiencing rapidly changing populations, including urbanization rates that will mean a doubling of the urban population in as little as 20 years, population growth, significant migration and displacement, and large and growing numbers of children and young people.
These same countries are also projected to experience the most severe human impacts of climate change, both acute and long term, exacerbating existing vulnerability linked to conflict, competition over natural resources, human rights violations, livelihood and food insecurity, lack of access to basic social services, poor health, extreme poverty and exposure to natural hazards.
At COP16, Parties agreed to include some of these issues as part of the Adaptation Framework, and to consider them within the emerging Green Climate Fund. It is now widely accepted that migration policies and measures to address displacement need to be part of adaptation strategies, as stated in paragraph 14(f) of the Cancun Adaptation Framework. However, implementation remains a work in progress, as does the inclusion of other key issues, such as population change, settlement issues and conflict sensitivities, which are essential to protect and empower vulnerable people in a changing climate and to ensure people’s human rights, health and well‐being.