Internal displacement in a changing climate

Every year, millions of new displacements, of instances where people are forced to flee their homes in conflicts and disasters, occur across the globe, revealing the systemic nature of displacement risk. As a result, the number of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) worldwide has reached an all-time high.
 
Climate change is one factor in a complex system of hazards, vulnerability and exposure, interacting with all parts of the risk equation and acting as a threat multiplier. In this context, promising developments in building resilience exist and several countries have successfully integrated displacement concerns into climate change adaptation and disaster management strategies. 2021 also presents a milestone and opportunity for global policy development on internal displacement, with progress reviews underway for several relevant international frameworks and the High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement delivering its report.
 
Against this backdrop of challenges and opportunities, IDMC is dedicating its 2020 Annual Conference on Internal Displacement and 2021 Global Report on Internal Displacement to exploring the relationship between climate change and displacement. Opportunities for simultaneously addressing the negative impacts of climate change and internal displacement will be at the centre of both the discussion at our annual conference and the analysis of our Global Report. Our third annual conference will take place on 1 October 2020 in Geneva.

We invite contributions in the form of background papers and presentations that address the issue of internal displacement in a changing climate through two main angles:

• Enhancing the understanding of the relationship between climate change and displacement, by examining, across different country and regional contexts, how social, economic, political and environmental factors interact with climate to generate displacement, potentially exacerbating its severity and impacts; and
• Sharing examples of good practice in reducing risk and finding sustainable solutions to internal displacement in a changing climate.

Papers are invited that analyse the systemic nature of displacement risk and the many factors that shape risk levels and displacement impacts, and that share lessons from local, national and regional investments in prevention and of policies and operational approaches that reduce the risk of displacement.
 

Submission of abstracts

More information on our call for contributions is available here. Submissions are invited on the above themes with the aim of contributing to the 2020 Internal Displacement Conference and/or the 2021 Global Report on Internal Displacement. Authors should use the submission form no later than 15 August 2020. Selected contributors will be informed via email by 31 August 2020.

Authors of proposals that lend themselves to being featured at the 2020 Internal Displacement Conference, hosted by IDMC on October 1st, will be invited to prepare a conference presentation or to participate in a panel discussion.