At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM) is putting pressure on negotiators so that climate mobility is at the heart of adaptation plans.
“People and communities who choose to stay must be safe, and those who decide to move must have the opportunity to do so with dignity,” Ugochi Daniels, IOM Deputy Director General, said on Thursday.
In 80 countries, IOM runs projects that put local communities in charge of solutions. Ms Daniels hopes that COP30 will be “a turning point for placing human mobility as a key area of climate action”, particularly in national adaptation plans and financing for loss and damage.
“Ten seconds that changed my life forever”
For Robert Montinard of Haiti, this debate is personal. The 2010 earthquake lasted only 10 seconds, but shattered lives for generations. In search of safety, he fled to Brazil as a refugee. Today he runs the Mawon association, helping others rebuild far from home.
At COP30, Robert insists on one thing: the voices of refugees must be heard.
“We want to be part of the solution. We want migrants and refugees to be heard. Those affected by the consequences of climate change – refugees, indigenous peoples, black communities, women – have the solutions,” he said.
This week, Robert delivered a proposal to the First Lady of Brazil, Rosangela Janja da Silva, and the Minister of the Environment, Marina Silva. It calls for the creation of city climate councils, action against environmental racism and community brigades to respond to disasters.
He describes the fate of Haiti as “climate injustice”. The same hurricanes that hit Florida, he said, leave behind destruction in his homeland — but while the United States is rapidly rebuilding, buildings destroyed in the 2010 Haiti earthquake still lie in rubble.
A crisis fueling the conflict in Ethiopia
From another corner of the South, Makebib Tadesse notes the same trend in Ethiopia, where climate pressures are intensifying conflicts over land and resources.
He described a “continuing cycle of violence and displacement” as food and water become scarce. In northern Ethiopia, where he was born, the impact of climate change now rivals – or even exceeds – the devastation of the 1974-1991 civil war.
“Climate change is pushing people out of Ethiopia like never before,” he said.
Robert and Makebib are both part of the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) at COP30, alongside Venezuelan indigenous leader Gardenia Warao.
“Brazil’s opening to refugees must be celebrated”
Alfonso Herrera, Mexican actor and Goodwill Ambassador for Latin America to UNHCR, formerly known as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, carries their message.
“The voices of refugees have been silenced – and they must be heard,” he said. UN News.
Mr. Herrera traveled across the region – from Mexico to Venezuela, Honduras and El Salvador – to witness the human cost of climate displacement and the UN’s efforts to restore hope through education and legal support.
He believes that Brazil’s openness to welcoming refugees deserves to be recognized, especially “while so many other countries adopt a completely opposite attitude.”
As COP30 debates how to adapt to a changing planet, displaced people remind the world that climate action is not just about saving ecosystems: it is also about protecting lives, preserving dignity and ensuring that no one is left behind by the rising tide.
UN News East report from Belémgiving you front row coverage of everything happening at COP30.
