climate adaptation — Climate Smart

Climate Impacts on Migrants and the Urban Poor in Sub-Saharan African Cities

Cities around the world are confronting the increasing frequency and severity of disasters due to climate change, and it is the urban poor who are most affected. Globally, urban informal settlements (so-called “slum areas”) are expanding rapidly, in part because of rural to urban migration. The environmental and public health challenges these settlements face are exacerbated by climate impacts like flooding and extreme heat. In an article in the Journal of Climate Resilience and Climate Justice, we explore environmental problems in informal settlements in two African cities: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Kampala, Uganda.

New SEC proposed rules mean corporations should heed latest IPCC insights on longevity of carbon sinks

Last month, IPCC AR6 Working Group II released its latest report, which covers Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. The report reveals in stark terms that climatic impacts are interacting and multiplying across sectors and regions, creating risks that compound each other (IPCC AR6 Summary 18). One key takeaway from the report that needs more attention is that many natural systems have already been pushed to their adaptive breaking points, including many warm water coral reefs, coastal wetlands, rainforests, arctic, and mountain ecosystems (IPCC AR6 Summary 28). These harsh realities raise concerns about the longevity of existing natural carbon sinks and has important policy implications.

Defining Climate Migration

Section six of the new Biden Administration directive on “Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration” orders the Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs (APNSA) to prepare and submit to the president a report on climate change and its impact on migration, with an eye to informing the administration on the international security dimensions of climate-related migration. The order includes studying “mechanisms” for identifying individuals displaced directly or indirectly from climate change and considering options for their protection and/or proposals for how findings on climate migration might inform U.S. foreign assistance programs. The report will cover opportunities to work with international organizations, non-governmental organizations, or localities trying to respond to such migration. It is a huge but important task. The President gave his team 180 days.

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