There are 90 million displaced people at risk from climate change

A uN Refugee agency today warned of the serious risks faced by 90 million displaced people living in countries with high or extreme exposure to climate change.

In a report released four days before the start of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP31), which will take place until the 20th in Antalya, Turkey, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) underlines that three out of every four people displaced by force in the world live in countries where there are severe droughts, deadly floods and extreme heat.

According to the organisation it is necessary to adopt “urgent actions to protect millions of refugees and other displaced persons because the financial resources for mitigation initiatives (greenhouse gas emissions reduction) and adaptation (reliance on the impacts of climate change are not reaching many of the most vulnerable communities.

“ Refugees face a double injustice. Forced to flee from conflicts that they did not cause, they are now at the forefront of a climate crisis to which they contributed very little,” says UNHCR Deputy High Commissioner for Operations Antón Leis García, quoted in the report.

“ For millions of people, climate change is not a distant threat. They are destroying shelters, damaging livelihoods and endangering their hopes of rebuilding their lives. We cannot allow those who have already lost so much to be left behind in global climate action ", defends.

The document also warns of the growing threat posed by climate change to the prospect of lasting solutions for displaced persons.

“ More than two thirds of the refugees who returned home during the first half of 2026 returned to countries that were highly vulnerable to climate disasters, increasing concerns about the sustainability of their return,” UNHCR said, setting an example for Syria.

The nearly 4 million displaced people who have recently returned to the country have come across the decline of groundwater and floods along the Euphrates River that have damaged homes and displaced thousands of people once again, the UN agency recalls, saying that extreme heat is also a growing threat.

“ By 2050, one in three refugee camps in sub-Saharan Africa may face at least 100 days of dangerous heat per year,” he says.

More than half of all sites evaluated “may suffer at least 50 additional days of dangerous heat annually” and, at some points in Ethiopia, this condition may persist more than 200 days a year, says the report.

In the last decade, according to the same document, climate-related disasters have caused more than 255 million internal movements around the world, equivalent to about 70,000 per day, but funding remains insufficient.

“ Frail and conflict-affected countries receive only about 10% of global climate finance, although many shelter large refugee and internally displaced populations and face serious climate impacts,” laments the UNHCR, defending the urgency of increased investment in climate adaptation, including in return areas.

The situation will be highlighted at COP31, the UNHCR promises, which helps to ask governments and climate finance institutions to include refugees and internally displaced people in national plans and to approve more investments for long-term adaptation in fragile areas affected by displacements.

“ Since Turkey, one of the largest refugee host countries in the world, will host COP31, the conference offers an important opportunity to insert the displacement and needs of the welcoming communities firmly into global climate action,” Leis García said.

The conference “must be a turning point”, concluded.