New York - Brussels: Europe and the Arabs
The International Organization for Migration has called for concrete solutions to deal with migration caused by climate change in the Mediterranean region.

In a press release coinciding with the third edition of the Mediterranean Conference of the Parties for Climate - which lasted for two days and concluded on June 23 - the organization said that climate changes are reshaping migration patterns everywhere.

It stated that these changes in 2022 caused the displacement of 305,000 people in the Middle East and North Africa. It is an increase of 30 percent over the previous year.

The Senior Regional Adviser to the International Organization for Migration in the Middle East and North Africa, Hassan Abdel Moneim Mustafa, stressed that the organization is committed to dealing with the overlap between climate change and the movement of people in the region, through a comprehensive solutions strategy.

Climate change and displacement
Mostafa said that the organization "believes in the importance of local regional trends to provide appropriate solutions to support the resilience of the most vulnerable communities to the impact of climate change, and to promote sustainable development in line with the goals of the Mediterranean Climate Conference."

In its statement, the organization stated that floods, droughts, and hurricanes threaten people's lives, health, food and water security, and human security in general in the region.

The World Bank expects that some 19 million people will become internally displaced in North Africa alone by 2050 due to climate impacts if concrete climate action is not adopted.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a partner in the Mediterranean Climate Conference, which brings together more than 500 key players in the field of climate change, including representatives from local governments and authorities, UN agencies, NGOs and the private sector.

The organization said that ahead of the climate conference (COP28) hosted by the UAE, "we must work to increase the appreciation of the opportunities offered by environmental migration governance in relation to the implementation of effective climate action, and this is by strengthening and diversifying adaptation measures, while dealing with losses and damages." avoid and minimize them.