Colombo, 08 October – Over 40 youth climate advocates from the Asia-Pacific region gathered for the second annual Asia Pacific Youth Summit on Climate Change and Human Mobility. Building on the success of last year’s inaugural youth summit in the Philippines, the event aimed to enhance youth engagement and capacity in addressing climate change and human mobility, fostering solutions for climate-induced displacement.

The summit, hosted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), brought together youth representatives from the National Youth Services Council, SLYCAN Trust, UNICEF Youth, Sri Lanka Model United Nations, Sri Lanka Land Development Corporation and other key organizations alongside young climate change advocates from across the Asia-Pacific region.

Climate mobility continues to persist as a pressing issue across the Asia-Pacific region, with several governments working individually and collectively to develop policies and frameworks to address the diverse linkages between human mobility and climate change.

A key focus of the Youth Summit was ensuring youth voices are included in local, national, and regional policy-making efforts related to climate mobility. They play a key role in raising awareness of disaster risk reduction, climate change adaptation, and community resilience. With their energy, innovation and inspiration for future change, youth are essential to shaping future solutions.

“The nexus between climate change and human mobility is increasingly apparent in the Asia Pacific region with climate induced disasters displacing people, interrupting livelihoods, and disrupting stability,” said Kristin Parco, Chief of Mission of IOM Sri Lanka and Maldives. “Youth advocates and their call for action has been inspirational and IOM is committed to amplifying their voices and supporting them in collectively tackling this urgent issue.”

Despite the advances that have been made on climate mobility, progress remains limited, especially across South and Southeast Asia. Among the countries that are most affected, Sri Lanka, this year’s host country for the Summit, has consistently been placed among the top ten countries susceptible to extreme weather events by the Global Climate Risk Index. Nevertheless, awareness on the convergence between climate change and its impact on inducing migration, displacement, and planned relocation remains scarce.

A substantial shift is urgently needed for governments across the region to more comprehensively address the human mobility consequences of climate change. Young people are powerful agents of change when it comes to promoting climate mobility awareness and supporting climate action and greener economies.

Prakirti Koirala, a Youth Delegate from Nepal noted that, “Despite coming from different countries that have different contexts, we have the common issue of climate mobility.” Joshua Almeida from Sri Lanka highlighted the need for inclusivity: “If the climate decides to play musical chairs, let’s make sure everyone has a seat, and no one is left behind.” 

The insights and recommendations from this summit will be shared at the upcoming Regional Conference of Youth under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’s youth engagement processes, and COP29, amplifying the voices of young climate advocates as they push for urgent action on climate-induced migration.

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For more information, please contact:

Asel Kularatne - Communications Officer - akularatne@iom.int