The Nansen Conference on Climate Change and Displacement

In connection with the Nansen–Amundsen Year in 2011, Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre and Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim will host the Nansen Conference on Climate Change and Displacement in the 21st Century in Oslo 6–7 June 2011 (www.nansenconference.no).

Rue de la Espoire. Photo: Rune Eraker

See webcast from the Nansen Conference.

The conference will be a meeting place for more than 200 researchers, academics and politicians, and representatives of the authorities, the UN and NGOs, who are concerned with climate change on the one hand and the humanitarian consequences in the form of forced migration on the other. A key goal is to establish a common understanding of the challenges related to climate displacement. It is important to distinguish between sudden-onset and slow-onset crises and between internally and externally displaced persons. An important question will be how to ensure the legal protection of environmentally displaced persons both today and in the future without undermining the institution of asylum that is provided for in the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees. Indeed the Nansen Conference is part of the celebration of the convention’s 60th anniversary. The conference will also examine what states and organisations can do to prevent displacement, for example through adaptation to climate change, crisis preparedness and early warning, and how the humanitarian response system can improve its capacity to meet the challenges.

The conference is the Norwegian Government’s contribution to the commemoration of Nansen the humanist in connection with the Nansen–Amundsen Year.

Among the prominent participants are UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres, Chair of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Rajendra Pachauri, and European Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva, who is responsible for international cooperation, humanitarian aid and crisis response.

The Norwegian Refugee Council and the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO) have been engaged to provide technical assistance in connection with the conference, see the programme and the background paper.

On 6–7 June, a conference on the same topic will be held for Norwegian young people in parallel to the Nansen Conference. This will take place at the Development House in Oslo, and will be organised by the Norwegian Refugee Council, Nature & Youth and Norwegian Red Cross Youth (see website in Norwegian). In addition, the Norwegian Refugee Council will hold a debate at 19:00 on Tuesday 7 June at the House of Literature in Oslo (see website in Norwegian). The prominent US climate researcher James Hansen will speak at the debate. The discussion itself will be in Norwegian and will include representatives of political parties and NGOs (link).

Any questions about the conference can be directed to Refugee Policy Director, Johan Meyer (jm@mfa.no, tel. +47 23 95 51 51) or Executive Officer Christian Gahre (chga@mfa.no, +47 23 95 15 29), both in the Section for Humanitarian Affairs.