Climate Refugee Commission

"Climate Refugee Commission" was a proposal submitted by the Extraterritorial Sovereign Ariddian Territory, ""puppet nation" of the PDSR Ariddia in the United Nations. It was the first proposal submitted and actively campaigned for by that nation. It reached quorum with about 190 approvals, following an intensive campaign by the author.

Resolution history

Proposal

The proposal was debated on and modified before being submitted; notably, two urging clauses were added, and the final clause was expanded to include an option for nations to provide funds and practical aid to refugees instead of rehousing them themselves.

Its overall aim was to create an eponymous committee tasked with investigating the causes of climate change and compelling nations to accept a small number of climate refugees following any environmental disaster.

UN floor debate

Early votes cast for the resolution tended to be in favor. Initial projection polls from the United Nations Information Agency, projected that the resolution would pass with 52.5% of the votes in favor, but also placed a 2.5% error margin on its forecasted outcome for the resolution.[1] However, as the debate continued in the UN forum the campaign opposing the resolution gained strength and eventually defeated the resolution.

Resolution text

THE UNITED NATIONS,

DEFINING a “climate refugee” as a person whose home has become uninhabitable due to permanent or indefinite climate changes, including but not limited to recurrent natural disasters, flooding, and long-term recorded changes in temperature of 2°C or more; or: as a person whose home is deemed likely, by the Climate Refugee Commission, to become uninhabitable within the next ten years;

URGING all member nations to do their utmost to lessen and prevent adverse human impacts on the climate;

RECOMMENDING that affected member nations call for aid from other nations, and allow national and international aid teams the maximum possible opportunities to distribute aid and access affected areas;

FURTHER URGING all member nations with significant areas of elevation or other means of refuge from lowland flooding to offer sanctuary to evacuees from vulnerable member nations;

HEREBY CREATES the Climate Refugee Commission (CRC), consisting of a panel of independent climate scientists and resettlement experts.

The CRC shall:

1. Immediately begin collecting data measuring the impact on climate change of industrial and other human activities within each nation. Within three years the CRC, using this data, shall establish what proportion of harmful impact is attributable to each nation. These figures are to be updated every three years.

2. Receive and rule on appeals from climate refugees who have been denied immigration to at least four countries.

3. At its discretion, require each nation to accept a number of climate refugees proportional to that nation’s adverse impact on the climate, as calculated by the CRC. Alternately, and with the CRC’s consent, a nation may choose to contribute a proportionally calculated sum of money, infrastructure and/or aid to other resettlement plans.

Voting analysis

Following the defeat of the proposal, Ambassador Christelle Zyryanov of Ariddia expressed her views regarding the reasons why certain nations had opposed the CRC.

Additional materials

• Climate Refugee Commission UN floor debate
• Ariddia and the United Nations
• UN Timeline
• United Nations Information Agency