A report released ahead of COP28 by international aid agency World Vision reveals the opinions of people living in affected regions on the links between climate change, conflict, hunger, and displacement.
New data from communities in nine low- and middle-income countries shows that 86% of people in those communities are already experiencing a wide variety of climate hazards, and more than 60% believe that climate change is specifically worsening conflict in their communities.
Mary Njeri, World Vision’s Global Hunger Response Director said: “This research highlights the cost of decades of inaction on the part of the international community. It is urgent that leaders push for real action at this month’s COP; 2023 is on track to be the warmest year on record and climate change is visibly worsening violent conflict and hunger, forcing increasingly vulnerable people to move to new areas in search of grazing land, food, and safety.”
This report found that 80% of community members felt that climate change worsened their economic situation, and almost 60% completely agreed that climate was increasing the risk of hunger. The effects of climate change put people, and especially farmers and herders, in incredibly vulnerable positions that aggravate social tensions in their communities as they try to find new ways to make ends meet for their families. Community members almost unanimously agreed that climate change was leading to displacement either to or from their communities, and over a third of the people surveyed (35%) said they had experienced some form of conflict in the past 12 months. Many of those conflicts were due to either land or water disputes (27% and 20% respectively).
“The findings of this report are an alarming illumination of problems that will only increase if we do not take action to promote God’s earth,” Njeri continues. “As people are displaced or conflicts are inflamed as communities grapple with the effects of climate change, people often resort to negative coping mechanisms that only further degrade the environment. Almost a third of people said climate change effects had led to an increase in deforestation in their communities, as decreasing crop yields spurred people to search for more land to grow food, or turn to mining to support their families.”
“We urgently need wealthier countries to fulfill the promises they made for funding to help communities adapt to climate change in ways that won’t further degrade the environment or aggravate conflicts. Every country has a responsibility to ensure they are doing their part to limit emissions and keep temperatures below 1.5˚C if possible. We’re already over 1.1˚C, but we owe it to our children to protect the planet. If we do not, the world won’t just be warmer, but bloodier and hungrier too.”
