COVID-19 and Climate Change - What can we learn?

Sudanese refugee children travel for several miles to fetch water for the family and feed their animals. UNHCR and its partners stress that climate change and irregular rainfall are affecting both host and refugee communities living and farming in remote regions of arid east Chad.

COVID-19 has brought our relationship with the environment into sharp focus.

The current pandemic has tested the world’s ability to respond to a health crisis of global magnitude and is perhaps our most illuminating view of how serious the consequences of climate change could be. This session of the HC dialogue will look at lessons learned from the COVID-19 crisis that can help address the ever-growing climate emergency and the existential threats it poses to the international community.

The focus will be on the first-hand experience of people affected by climate change as well as on the related displacement and protection concerns. In 2019, nearly 2,000 disasters, mostly related to weather hazards, triggered some 25 million new displacements within 140 countries and territories. Despite their unique vulnerability, refugees, IDPs and host communities have historically been severely underserviced by climate action support. The COVID-19 crisis highlights the imperative to listen to science, learn from affected communities and act with urgency to anticipate, mitigate and adapt to the inevitable impacts of climate change.
After opening remarks by the Assistant High Commissioner for Protection, representatives from affected communities will share their experiences and recommendations for dealing with the climate emergency, while researchers and practitioners from the climate community will provide an outlook of policy developments that are necessary to accelerate climate action. A Q&A will allow participants to ask questions to speakers and UNHCR representatives.

Speakers for the session

HE Ambassador Ms. Nazhat Shameem Khan

HE Ambassador Ms. Nazhat Shameem Khan is the Permanent Representative of Fiji to the UN in Geneva. She is a former public prosecutor and was the first woman to be appointed a High Court judge in Fiji. In 2017, she was appointed the Chief Negotiator of the UNFCCC COP under Fiji`s Presidency. In 2019, she was a Vice President of the Human Rights Council.

Twitter: @nazhatskhan and @FijiGeneva

Ms. Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim

Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim is an environmental activist, member of Chad's pastoralist Mbororo community, a UN Sustainable Development Goals Advocate, President of the Association for Indigenous Women and Peoples of Chad (AFPAT) and member of the Indigenous Peoples of Africa Coordinating Committee (IPACC). She began advocating for Indigenous rights and environmental protection at age 16. She served as co-chair of the International Indigenous Peoples Forum on Climate Change (IIPFCC) during the historic UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris. Her vision is to promote traditional knowledge and science to improve resilience to climate change especially for rural communities.

Twitter: @hindououmar
Instagram: hindououmar
Facebook: Hindou Oumarou Ibrahim
LinkedIn: hindououmar

Mr. Bidal Abraham

Mr. Bidal Abraham is a 33-year-old refugee from South Sudan, a trained teacher, and a passionate advocate for the environment. He is the current chairperson of the Refugee Welfare Council in Omugo Village 05, Rhinocamp settlement. Bidal has mobilized refugees and others in his village to grow trees and protect the environment. He supports partners in constructing energy-saving stoves to reduce deforestation and fight against climate change.

No social media presence, but covered by UNHCR: Refugee from South Sudan becomes an advocate for tree planting in Uganda

Professor Saleemul Huq

Professor Saleemul Huq is the Director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) at the Independent University, Bangladesh and Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in London. His special focus is on interlinkages between climate change (both mitigation and adaptation) and sustainable development from the perspective of developing countries. He contributed as a lead author to the third and fourth assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

Twitter: @SaleemulHuq
Facebook: Saleemul Huq
Linkedin: SaleemulHuq

Mr. Selwin Hart

Mr. Selwin Hart is the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Climate Action and Assistant Secretary-General for the Climate Action Team. He ensures delivery of the Secretary-General's priorities on climate change and works for enhanced levels of ambition to implement the Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals. Previously, Mr. Hart served as the Executive Director for the Caribbean region at the Inter-American Development Bank, as the Ambassador to the United States of America and the Organization of American States for Barbados, and in several climate action leadership positions.

Twitter: @SelwinHart

Dr. Ghazi Tsay Sharkas

Assistant Secretary General for Primary Health Care, Ministry of Health, Jordan

Dr.Ghazi Faisal Sharkas has an MD and MSc in Epidemiology and is a Community Medicine Consultant. He has published several scientific papers on epidemiological and primary health care research.

Facebook: Dr-Ghazi Tsay Sharkas
Linkedin: Ghazi Sharkas

Moderator of the session

Ms. Elizabeth Puranam

Ms. Elizabeth Puranam is an international broadcast journalist. She is Al Jazeera's India Correspondent, based in Delhi, after spending seven years at the channel's headquarters in Qatar as a senior news and current affairs presenter. Elizabeth grew up in India and New Zealand, and is passionate about covering issues of social justice and human rights.

Twitter: @LizPuranam
LinkedIn: Elizabeth Puranam