Africa Climate Mobility Initiative releases African Shifts Report & Agenda for Action, aimed at forging people positive climate adaptation strategies

NEW YORK, April 26, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The African Shifts report, launched by the Africa Climate Mobility Initiative, documents the climate vulnerability & mobility patterns of communities in Africa as well as presents scenarios for future migration and displacement resulting from increasing climate impacts. The African Shifts report is accompanied by an Agenda for Action, which outlines proposals for action to address these urgent challenges.

The Report shows that most future climate mobility in Africa will take place within countries, reflecting current patterns of movement. The number of people on the move could increase significantly from 1.5% of Africa's population today to 5% by 2050, amounting to up to 113 million people. In the Horn of Africa, climate impacts could force up to 9% of the population – up to 49 million people – to move in the decades ahead, making the case for adequate planning to build local adaptive capacity, especially in smaller cities and towns.

The Report calls for advance planning for climate mobility as part of Africa's strategies for climate adaptation and climate-resilient development. It identifies potential 'climate mobility hotspots', where building resilience to climate stressors can avert and minimise the risk of displacement and prepare communities for future arrivals, thus preventing escalating loss and damage.

The Agenda for Action proposes eight key actions for the next eight years. These can support countries in achieving the aspirations of the 2030 SDGs and their adaptation commitments under the Paris Agreement.

"Climate induced migration is already real. Unless we anticipate and plan for increased climate mobility, we can expect socio-economic, political and security calamities," said Ambassador Namira Negm, Director of the African Migration Observatory at the African Union.

"Africa is already bearing the brunt of climate change. All countries, especially the developed and fast-developing nations, need to act by raising ambition and slashing heat-trapping greenhouse gas emissions. Developing nations must take the issue of human mobility into consideration when designing their National Adaptation Plans," said UN Climate Change Deputy Executive Secretary Ovais Sarmad.

"African Shifts will drive greater momentum toward people positive climate action by bridging the current gaps in climate mobility knowledge, policy and data," said Kamal Amakrane, Managing Director of the Global Centre for Climate Mobility.

Notes: https://bit.ly/ACMI-Notes-Media 

Contact:
David Lonnberg, lonnberg@climatemobility.org, +1 347 836 2121

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