Julie Gassien of the Norwegian Refugee Council warns that climate change will exacerbate displacement issues, leading to larger and more intense natural disasters.

Amid these challenges, over 200 former leaders and climate experts have criticized the COP process as inadequate, calling for a fundamental overhaul of climate negotiations to effectively address displacement and its underlying causes.

By the end of 2023, over 6.6 million people were displaced globally due to weather-related disasters, contributing to a staggering total of 20.3 million forced movements throughout the year.

Floods and storms were the primary drivers of displacement, affecting 9.8 million and 9.5 million people, respectively, while droughts and wildfires displaced 491,000 and 435,000 individuals.

The highest instances of weather-related displacements were reported in China, with 4.6 million people affected, and the Philippines, where 2.1 million were displaced, largely due to Typhoon Doksuri.

In Africa, Somalia experienced the most significant displacement, with 2 million people affected by severe flooding, described as the worst in decades.

The disparity in displacement rates is stark, with countries in the Global South experiencing displacements at a rate five times greater than those in the Global North in 2023.

The World Bank warns that over half of South Asia's population has been impacted by natural disasters in the last two decades, with projected annual losses of $160 billion by 2030 if trends continue.

Since 2008, nearly 80% of the 359 million weather-related displacements have occurred in Asia and the Asia Pacific, with China, the Philippines, India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan accounting for 67% of global displacements.

In addition to climate-related displacements, an extra 1.1 million people were displaced by natural disasters not directly linked to climate change, such as earthquakes and volcanic activity.

To address these challenges, Pushker Kharecha from Columbia University advocates for a global carbon pricing system that fairly penalizes greenhouse gas emissions without disproportionately burdening lower and middle-income countries.

Alice Baillit from the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre emphasizes the importance of tackling both the root causes of displacement and its consequences stemming from climate change.