Good afternoon, and thank you to committee members for the kind invitation to be part of this important discussion on Canada's approach to Africa.
I founded Climate Refugees 10 years ago after working with refugees all around the world, especially in Africa. That work made clear that climate change is increasingly impacting mobility all around the world. Communities in Africa are seeing increasing poverty, mounting losses and damages, development setbacks and human rights eroded as a result of climate change. Forced migration is just one such harm, but it is inextricably linked to human security, where conflicts are being exacerbated.
Although Africa has contributed less than 4% to carbon emissions, it is on the front lines of climate impacts, with the least capacity and international support to respond. This fundamental climate injustice must be a key component of any strategy regarding the African continent.
These losses are setbacks to gains once made under the UN sustainable development goals, a key priority of Canada's international assistance program. In Kenya, people told me how rainfall has submerged local schools and clinics, a clear threat to the UN goals on achieving quality education and good health for all. In an isolated island community battling lake rise and wildlife encroachment, one woman I spoke to faced childbirth in a flimsy boat surrounded by crocodiles. It is not difficult to see why some people may feel they simply have no choice but to move elsewhere, while others lack the resources to move so remain trapped in place.
Climate Refugees's discussions with communities in Kenya, Somalia and the Lake Chad basin confirm climate is driving insecurity. Scientists have confirmed that Africa is warming faster than the rest of the world, driving drought and resource scarcity. Last month, the International Organization for Migration and the African Union confirmed that conflict and insecurity in Africa are increasingly exacerbated by climate change.
The Horn of Africa has been dealing with the worst drought it has ever seen. I spoke to pastoralists in Kenya and Somalia who have lost their livestock—their livelihood—and families are now facing starvation or acute food insecurity. In some cases, conflicts between groups have become deadly.
I found a similar situation around the Lake Chad basin, where at least 40 million people reside and where temperatures have risen nearly 2°C since the 1960s and rainfall has become increasingly erratic. The start of the conflict with Boko Haram in 2009 forced many out of the region, though in many cases people were first displaced within the region due to climate change. In my discussions with residents, some reported being first displaced as far back as 1973.
What role does Canada have in all of this? On one hand, Canada has a reputation of generous foreign assistance and of being quite welcoming to refugees. On the other hand, domestic challenges in Canada have stalled welcoming immigration policies.
I would remind this committee that nobody wants to be forced to leave their home, yet that is increasingly happening all around the world today, in Africa and elsewhere. Globally, over 114 million people have been forcibly displaced, and that was before Gaza.
While conflict and violence continue to be the main drivers of migration and displacement in sub-Saharan Africa, they are being increased by climate shocks, bringing to light the linkages between migration drivers and poverty, livelihood loss and political instability. Canada’s efforts in Africa can be strengthened through robust climate finance made accessible at community levels, commensurate with its own historical and current global emissions and in line with its climate pledges and UN commitments to the global south. This includes rapidly and urgently increasing its grant-based climate adaptation finance and its contributions to the newly established loss and damage fund.
Let’s remember that much of the displacement in Africa is happening within the continent, and while African states have stepped up to co-operate across borders, global north countries have not met the need and responsibilities at the same scale and level. Canada has an opportunity to help Africans adapt in place to climate change wherever possible; to support and facilitate voluntary migration to improved situations when moving becomes a necessary adaptation to climate change; and to compensate communities that have faced undue losses due to the irreversible effects of climate change. Canada also has an opportunity and duty to continue its commitment to international human rights law and its migration, asylum and border management programs with the U.S., ensuring protection of migrants and asylum seekers who arrive at its borders.
Canada should explore ways in which it can offer protection to those displaced in the context of climate change, sharing that responsibility with Africa. For example, Canadian asylum policy could incorporate the UN human rights committee's ruling to not deport individuals who face climate change conditions that threaten their right to life. Canada could also leverage its popular sponsorship program by introducing a climate migration class that can offer protection to someone facing climate risks to their life. These options have been highlighted by the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers.
Ultimately, these suggestions go beyond Canada's approach to Africa. If they're implemented in partnership with impacted countries and communities, Canada can be an example of global co-operation and a beacon of hope in the climate crisis.
Thank you.