The UN Refugee Agency has issued a warning about the serious dangers faced by 90 million displaced people residing in nations with high or extreme vulnerability to climate change.
In a report released four days before the start of the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31), which will take place in Antalya, Turkey, until the 20th, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) highlights that three out of every four people forced to move globally live in countries ravaged by intense droughts, fatal floods, and extreme heat.
According to the organization, it is imperative to implement immediate measures to protect millions of refugees and other displaced populations, given that financial resources allocated to mitigation initiatives (such as reducing greenhouse gas emissions) and adaptation (to increase resilience to climate impacts) are not reaching many of the most exposed communities.
Antón Leis García, Deputy High Commissioner for Operations at UNHCR, emphasizes that refugees suffer a double injustice: they are forced to flee conflicts they did not cause and subsequently find themselves on the front lines of a climate crisis they contributed minimally to.
He argues that for millions of people, climate change does not represent a future threat, but rather a destructive reality that compromises housing, livelihoods, and the possibility of rebuilding their lives, calling for those who have already lost so much not to be neglected in the global climate response.
The document also signals the growing threat that climate change poses to the viability of permanent solutions for displaced people. UNHCR points out that more than two-thirds of refugees who returned during the first half of 2026 returned to countries extremely susceptible to climate disasters, raising doubts about the sustainability of these returns, citing Syria as an example.
Nearly 4 million displaced persons who recently returned to Syria have encountered declining groundwater levels and flooding along the Euphrates River, resulting in damage to homes and the displacement of thousands of people again, in addition to extreme heat being a growing threat, as the UN agency recalls.
Projections indicate that by 2050, one in three refugee camps in Sub-Saharan Africa may face at least 100 days of dangerous heat annually. More than half of the assessed locations may suffer from at least 50 extra days of dangerous heat per year, and in certain regions of Ethiopia, this condition could persist for over 200 days annually.
In the last decade, climate-related disasters have already caused over 255 million internal displacements globally, equivalent to approximately 70,000 people daily, but funding remains insufficient.
UNHCR regrets that fragile and conflict-affected countries receive only about 10% of global climate finance, despite hosting large contingents of refugees and internally displaced persons and facing severe climate impacts. The organization advocates for the urgent need for greater investment in climate adaptation, including return areas.
The situation will be a central theme at COP31, where UNHCR intends to call on governments and climate finance institutions to incorporate refugees and internally displaced persons into their national plans and approve larger contributions for long-term adaptation in vulnerable and displacement-affected areas.
Leis García considers the conference a crucial opportunity, given that Turkey, one of the world's largest refugee hosts, will host COP31, to consolidate the inclusion of the issue of displacement and the needs of host communities in the global climate agenda. He concludes that the event must serve as a turning point.
