As many as 200m people could be displaced by climate change by 2050

UN Under-Secretary General and UN-HABITAT Executive Director, Joan Clos, has said that there could be as many as 200 million migrants due to climate change in the next 40 years, with up to 12 million coming from Latin America. “To face climate change we need to overhaul the current urban pattern in our cities because it is not environmentally and economically sustainable for the 21st Century,” Clos continued. “We should work to create urban extensions inintermediate cities that will help us to plan proper public spaces and basic urban services, such as transport and efficient energy…There is a path for the compact, equitable and integrated city.” According to a press release issued by the UN Information Center (UNIC) in Tehran, this was the stark message from UN-HABITAT, at the Global Observance of World Habitat Day, held this year in Aguascalientes, Mexico on Monday October 3. Hosted by the Government of Mexico the day’s events took place at the prestigious Descubre Museum and were attended by the President of Mexico, Felipe Calderón Hinojosa. This year’s theme, Cities and Climate Change, was chosen because climate change is fast becoming the preeminent development challenge of the 21st century while, at the same time, our world is becoming increasingly urban. Indeed, no-one today can really foresee the predicament in which a town or city will find itself in 10, 20 or 30 years time. Also speaking at the opening, President Calderón said: “Climate Change is a fact and is already here. Cities have to take actions to face it. It is not only the responsibility of developed countries, but the responsibility should be shared. Mexico has decided to take this responsibility and we are doing it through best practices in our cities.”