Climate disasters threaten millions with displacement, IOM warns
The agency said about 30 million displacements were recorded in 2025 because of storms, floods and other disasters.
Millions of people face displacement from escalating climate disasters and a lack of funding to address them, the International Organization for Migration warned on Tuesday, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
The organization said about 30 million displacements were recorded in 2025 because of storms, floods and other disasters.
Speaking at the opening of the COP31 climate conference in Antalya, Türkiye, IOM Director General Amy Pope said delays in investing in climate adaptation are pushing more families to leave their homes.
Pope urged a move away from emergency disaster response toward long-term investment aimed at protecting people.
She said developing nations will need up to $365 billion a year by 2035 to adapt to climate change, far more than the $26 billion in international public funding provided in 2023.
Pope called for more climate finance directed at the communities most vulnerable to disasters, and warned that displacement will worsen in the coming years if the gap between needs and resources persists.
COP is the annual United Nations climate conference, where governments meet to discuss action on global warming and its effects.
IOM is the United Nations agency that works on migration and displacement, including people forced to move by disasters.
