Lok Sabha Question No. 844 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-02-07
Subject: Climate Refugees
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Sanjay Haribhau Jadhav, Bhavana Gawali (Patil)

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 844

TO BE ANSWERED ON 07.02.2022

## Climate Refugees

## 844. SHRI SANJAY JADHAV: SHRIMATI BHAVANA PUNDALIKRAO GAWALI:

Will the Minister of ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  noticed  a  direct  link  between  increasing  human displacement  and  climate  change  which  is  forcibly  displacing  people  as  climate refugees and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether 'Climate Refugees' are not getting the public health care facilities as the term is still not defined in international laws and if so, the details thereof; and
- (c) the steps taken/ to be taken by the Government to adopt a hybrid method approach developed  from  'Policy  Oriented  Jurisprudence'  for  the  protection  of  'Climate Refugees' in view of the large scale displacement due to climate change?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

(a) to (c) Displacement of affected people may be due to economic, social, political and other factors.  It  may  be  temporary  or  permanent,  short  term  or  long  term  depending  on  the underlying cause(s) of displacement. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5 degree C (2018), the social, economic and environmental factors underlying displacement of people by climate change are complex and varied;  therefore,  attributing  it  to  the  effect  of  observed  climate  change  or  assessing  its possible magnitude with any degree of confidence is challenging.

There is  no  established  study  for  India  providing  a  quantified  attribution  of  climate change triggering displacement of people. While many studies monitor extreme events in the environment, the science of attribution of these changes particularly to climate change is far more  complex  and  currently  an  evolving  subject.  Most  studies  so  far  have  relied  on mathematical modelling of climate change impacts.

Relief, recovery, and rehabilitation are governed, inter alia, by the relevant provisions of  the  Disaster  Management  Act,  2005  and  the  guidelines,  directives,  and  orders  of  the National  Disaster  Management  Authority  and  the  State  Disaster  Management  Authorities. The constitutional, legal and administrative provisions relevant to disaster management and disaster risk reduction adequately address the management of disasters in the country.

The  State  Governments  undertake  relief  measures  in  the  wake  of  natural  disasters from the State Disaster Response Fund (SDRF) already placed at their disposal in accordance with the extant norms. Additional assistance is extended from the National Disaster Response Fund  (NDRF)  as  per  established  procedure.  The  assistance  approved  under  SDRF/NDRF norms is provided in the form of relief.

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