“Climate Change is Hitting Us the Hardest. We Want to be Part of the Solutions.”

By Jocelyn Perry , Ayoo Hellen | November 14, 2024

In October 2024, Refugees International met with 60 refugee leaders in Bidi Bidi and Kiryandongo Refugee Settlements to consult with them on what they hope Parties accomplish at COP29 in Baku. These are the messages they want the international community to hear.

“Refugee voices should be heard.”

Access to Information and Decision-Making

Refugees must be at the table. More refugee leaders need to be able to attend COP directly.
Additionally, national governments must consult with refugees in the development of their COP positions and report back to refugee communities following COP negotiations to inform them of relevant outcomes and opportunities.
Governments must consult with refugees in developing their Nationally Determined Contributions and National Adaptation Plans to truly understand local contexts and be inclusive of refugees in all climate actions, an essential step to effectively mitigate and adapt to climate change.
Governments and organizations must provide local actors with more information about the causes and risks of climate change, as well as the relevant national and international climate processes for them to participate meaningfully and effectively.
Governments and organizations must support community needs assessments within refugee communities to inform national programming and positions at COPs.

Capacity Building

National governments, international organizations, and UN agencies should support the development of project preparation, implementation, and monitoring and evaluation skills within refugee-led organizations for the sustainability of initiatives within their communities.
International organizations should provide training in livelihood activities that support climate action, from climate-adaptive agriculture and afforestation to plastic recycling and green energy initiatives.
Donors need capacity-building, not just refugee-led organizations. They need to understand the contexts, capabilities, and needs of refugee communities to more meaningfully engage with them.

“Refugee-led organizations must get direct funding.”

Finance

Donors and other financing bodies, including the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage, must channel climate funding directly to community-based, refugee-led organizations, rather than through intermediaries, to increase the amount that actually reaches local communities and support the localization agenda. These organizations require timely, flexible, multi-year funding for implementation of programs at scale.
Funding must be made available to organizations based within refugee communities. Often, those with the technical expertise, networks, and operational infrastructure to write successful grant applications are based in capital cities, removed from the realities of daily life and operations for many refugees.

Opportunities for Refugees

Fellowships, scholarships, and other opportunities should not be restricted to those below a certain age. Many refugees have their educational experiences interrupted, often multiple times, in the course of displacement and thus complete their degrees on longer time scales. Age limits reduce the already limited opportunities available for them.
International organizations and national governments should prioritize refugee-led research and data collection to inform evidence-based programming.
Initiatives should be structured to build ties between receiving communities and refugee communities through joint programming.
Governments must recognize refugees’ qualifications and support their hiring in professional jobs rather than offering them positions as volunteers as is so often the case given restrictions on formal employment.
Refugee-led organizations must be supported to implement large-scale projects, rather than always being seen as sub-contractors and sub-grantees.

Productive and Enabling Policy Environments

National governments should develop more favorable legal environments for refugees to operate their organizations, such as fewer restrictions on registration and access to finance.
National laws on environmental conservation and degradation must be enforced, and dangerous mining and oil drilling practices must be stopped.
Humanitarian organizations, UN agencies, and national governments should provide greater support for construction of homes and alternative fuel sources to reduce dependency on trees for both, contributing to deforestation and tension with receiving communities.

Featured Image: Refugee leaders in Uganda discuss their priorities ahead of COP29.