Global Future Councils Urge Action On Climate-Related Humanitarian Crises At AMGFC24

The Annual Meeting of the Global Future Councils 2024 (AMGFC24) highlighted the urgent need to reintroduce human elements into climate action. Experts at this event, a collaboration between the UAE Government and the World Economic Forum, discussed social injustices linked to extreme weather and environmental degradation, with examples from communities directly affected by climate change.

Andrew Harper, Special Adviser on Climate Action at the UN Refugee Agency, emphasised that both climate change and conflict are increasingly impacting refugees. "More and more refugees are being impacted by both climate change and conflict. Seventy-five percent of refugees around the world have had to flee areas which are also being impacted by extreme and severe climatic conditions. They’re moving across the border into places that don’t have the capacity or resources to provide protection," he stated.

According to Harper, as of May 2024, 120 million people were registered as forcibly displaced worldwide by the UNHCR. This figure includes an additional 8.8 million people displaced by the end of 2023 compared to the previous year. The economic pressures from climate change are worsening this crisis, prompting Harper to urge for increased international funding for climate-resilient infrastructure in developing nations.

Harper noted that insufficient financing for adaptation and resilience has forced emergency responses to fill gaps. "The lack of financing in adaptation, development and resilience has meant that emergency responses have had to fill the gap. The lack of funding has meant that governments and communities have not had the ability to invest in climate-smart agriculture because they’re just trying to keep the country running," he explained.

Tolu Oni, Clinical Professor at the University of Cambridge, addressed sustainability and public health challenges due to rapid urbanisation. Oni described a concerning increase in informal settlements and hazardous land use disrupting natural ecosystems. "The nature of [rapid] urbanization is very precarious," Oni remarked.

Oni stressed inclusivity when planning future urban areas, especially in rapidly urbanising developing economies. Reflecting on His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum's words, Oni said: "The future is not linear. It’s not something we wait to happen. The future is something that’s happening now, we’re designing and shaping it now."

Designing Sustainable Futures

Oni questioned whether current actions consider diverse perspectives: "As we’re thinking about shaping actions, are we being future literate? By that I mean are we considering who is designing those futures? What world views are designing those futures? Are we leveraging collective intelligence? Are we exploring different ways of knowing?"

AMGFC24 runs from 15th to 17th October in Dubai with over 500 participants from 80 countries. These include experts, thought leaders, government officials, and business leaders contributing to shaping the agenda for the 2025 WEF Annual Meeting in Davos.

The meeting underscored a shift from rhetoric to tangible action in addressing these global challenges. Harper concluded with a call for accountability: "We’ve got to focus more on action. We’ve got to be accountable."

With inputs from WAM