Canada’s Next Government Must Prioritize Climate Justice

Canadians go to the polls on April 28th, with tariffs and the trade war between the United States dominating much of the conversation this election cycle. Amidst this turbulent political context, conversations around climate change have gone under the radar despite the rapid exacerbation of the global climate emergency during the past year.

At the end of 2024, the Senate and the House of Commons published reports on Canada’s role in responding to the global forced displacement crisis and Canada’s engagement with African countries, respectively. Climate Refugees provided input and shaped the recommendations for both reports to ensure climate justice is at the centre of Canada’s efforts.

In December 2024, the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights published a timely report entitled Ripped From Home: The Global Crisis of Forced Displacement. The report highlights the scale of the displacement crisis, which is exacerbated as climate change negatively influences environmental, economic and physical wellbeing. 

In the recommendations presented, the Committee encourages Canada to “recognize climate displacement as an existential crisis and take an international leadership role on mitigating and adapting to climate change.” The report calls on the government to fully fund Canada’s climate finance commitments and address climate migration through international instruments such as the Convention on Statelessness. The Committee also encourages the government to consider introducing new pathways for refugees based on specific human rights considerations, such as people displaced by climate change. 

The report acknowledges the connections between climate change and displacement by asserting, “In short, climate change must no longer be thought of as a peripheral concern in the context of global displacement. It is already amplifying threats to peace and security, development and human rights, and has the potential to supercharge global displacement to unprecedented levels. Mitigating and adapting to climate change is therefore central to the nexus approach to global displacement.”

Climate Refugees contributed to the study through a joint brief with key recommendations on how Canada should respond to the global solidarity crisis for forced displacement in the context of the climate emergency. These recommendations include recognizing climate displacement, training decision-makers and officials on the intersection between refugee law and climate change, increasing humanitarian visas, developing relocation processes for internally displaced communities, and establishing long-term legislative solutions to provide a more permanent and comprehensive response to climate protection.

In November 2024, the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development published a report on a New Era of Partnerships: Canada’s Engagement with Africa. The report outlines a series of recommendations, including for Canada to address the intersection between climate change and healthcare, as well as to support climate-resilient agricultural systems. Climate Refugees contributed to the report as Amali Tower testified at the House of Commons by highlighting the impact of climate change on poverty, loss and damage, development setbacks and human rights, while underlining the climate injustice in the continent as African countries have contributed less than 4% of carbon emissions. Climate Refugees called on Canada to provide equitable, grant-based climate finance, including compensation for losses and damages, as well as for the government to take action that would help communities to adapt in place to climate change and support and facilitate voluntary migration. 

In March, the government launched its “Canada’s Africa Strategy: A Partnership for Shared Prosperity and Security.” The foreign policy is centered around five strategic areas aligned with the African Union’s Agenda 2063, including supporting adaptation and addressing biodiversity loss through Canada’s climate finance envelope, as well as through bilateral agreements and initiatives, such as the Global Carbon Pricing Challenge and Powering Past Coal Alliance. These investments are critical as the World Meteorological Organization estimates that by 2030, 118 million people living in extreme poverty across the continent will be exposed to drought, floods and extreme heat if adequate response measures are not put in place. 

As the United States retreated from global climate action under the second Trump presidency, which will have detrimental impacts on global climate finance through the dissolution of USAID, Canada has an urgent role to step up and demonstrate its leadership in global climate justice. This includes advancing protection pathways for those displaced and migrating due to the effects of the climate crisis, as recommended by the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers, as well as developing an ambitious and justice-centered five-year international climate finance pledge between 2026-27 and 2030-31.

Canada has disproportionately contributed to the climate crisis as it is the largest polluter in terms of cumulative emissions per population and the second highest in cumulative emissions per capita historically. Such figures underline how the next government must urgently work toward rectifying its global climate destruction by advancing justice-centered solutions to the climate crisis through ambitious climate finance pledges, including compensation for losses and damages for countries disproportionately impacted by the climate crisis, as well as innovative approaches to protect those displaced and migrating due to the complex and intertwined effects of the global climate emergency. 

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Linked to Climate Change, Brazil Floods Continue to Leave Many Displaced

Three months after major flooding hit southern Brazil, at least 386,000 people remain displaced, and many remain in improvised shelters.

In late April 2024, Porto Alegre, the capital and largest city of Brazil’s southernmost state Rio Grande do Sul experienced catastrophic flooding due to persistent and extreme rainfall. The situation was made worse when the Guaíba River breached its banks in early May, contributing to extensive flooding within the region. During peak rains on 1 May, the state capital received two months worth of rain in just three days. The floods have had extensive impacts on communities in the region - notably causing widespread displacement - and have emphasized the significance of climate change in exacerbating such disasters. 

Scientists have found the flooding event was made twice as likely due to climate change. The latest flooding is the fourth to hit Brazil’s southern region in the past year and a half. Scientists have made clear that a rapid and drastic reduction in the greenhouse gas emissions heating the planet is vital.

Deforestation, a persistent lack of environmental protection legislation and the effects of climate change are major contributors to the increasing disasters in this region. El Niño, the cyclical climate phenomenon, has contributed to warmer ocean surface temperatures which then results in intensification of storms and prolonged heavy rainfall. The rain patterns in Brazil have changed dramatically, with the Amazon rainforest in constant drought and the south experiencing downpours and flooding. At the same time, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts the frequency of strong El Niño events is likely to increase.

The flooding has affected at least 2.3 million people in nearly 90% of Rio Grande do Sul’s municipalities. At least 182 people are dead, with many still missing. Entire neighborhoods have been submerged underwater. Many have returned to their homes after initial flooding, but not everyone has been able to do so. 

The current flood-related displacement is largely internal but subsequent disasters will inevitably displace more people, likely both internally and across borders. Community members fear moving back, anticipating worse climate disasters to come. Some relatively fortunate residents were able to quickly relocate to higher ground but many have sought refuge in emergency shelters with others living under bridges, and in tents and cars. 

The displacement has severely disrupted daily life. Schools, businesses, hospitals, and critical infrastructure such as the international airport have all been heavily impacted. The flooding particularly affects vulnerable populations such as low-income communities with inadequate infrastructure, making them more susceptible to the effects of disasters. 

In particular, the recent flooding has caused a surge in leptospirosis and hepatitis A cases. Both are easily transmittable through contaminated water. Education has also been disrupted. Not only are physical schools damaged, but students have been displaced from their homes, and families have been forced to prioritize finding shelter and other necessities over education. Future disaster preparedness must anticipate temporary and mobile classrooms in displacement situations in all climate adaptation and resilience planning. 

The floods have not only caused physical damage, they disproportionately impact vulnerable communities and highlight the urgent need for improved infrastructure to mitigate the health and education impacts of such disasters. In this way, it is clear that loss and damage from climate impacts often cascade well beyond the initial event.

The economic losses are expected to exceed $1 billion dollars. The impacts on the agricultural sector are dire, with the price of staples like rice likely to rise sharply at a time when millions are already struggling with the rising costs of living. Rio Grande do Sul is responsible for around 70% of Brazil’s rice crops and dairy products. For decades the nearby forests and marshes have been cleared to make way for agricultural land. The loss of these natural barriers has very likely exacerbated the region’s vulnerability to flooding.

At the same time, stories are beginning to emerge of the importance of climate readiness and how, time and time again, the most vulnerable communities also serve as first responders to their own communities.

Bahá’í community-building efforts led to affected families assessing needs and organizing distribution of food, water, clothing, blankets and hygiene kits. Youth groups were at the forefront of initiatives, while the elderly were instrumental in providing support for isolated individuals. Health teams were assembled to train individuals on disease prevention from contaminated waters. These efforts demonstrate how critical it is to adequately equip communities before disasters occur in order to minimize harms. It is also a clear endorsement of the value of local, community-based knowledge that must be harnessed in climate action.

Porto Alegre serves as a reminder of the urgent need to address climate change and invest in sustainable solutions to protect vulnerable populations. The rainfall that led to this disaster can be closely linked to climate change, deforestation, poor maintenance of flood control infrastructure, and a lack of strong environmental policies. This makes it abundantly clear that the policies to address this disaster, and prevent future ones, will require a comprehensive and sustained approach. Anything less will condemn people with insufficient means to a future of loss and damage as the climate crisis worsens.

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