Cities in Global South must prepare for climate migrants

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Climate financing must go directly to cities. Less than 10% of global climate finance and only 1.2% of humanitarian funding reaches local actors in cities.

For example, Amman, already home to 200,000 Syrian refugees, is projected to receive at least 500,000 climate migrants by 2050 with climate migrants making up a growing share of total new arrivals.

To put this in perspective, Amman will host far more displaced people than Jordan’s Zaatari refugee camp, the fourth largest in the world.

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We need to reduce barriers that prevent migrants from becoming fully included in their new communities. Climate migrants will need access to housing, healthcare, education, and jobs. Cities can ensure services are accessible to all, regardless of legal status or language barriers.

For example, in Bogotá - already home to 600,000 Venezuelan migrants and potentially facing up to another 600,000 climate migrants by 2050 - the Centros Intégrate, launched with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development and the International Organization for Migration, provides legal aid, healthcare, education, and employment support while helping migrants apply for work permits.

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