Norton Urges President Biden to Create Interagency Working Group on Climate Change and Migration
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) today sent a letter to President Biden, signed by 46 other members of Congress, urging creation of an interagency working group on climate change and migration that would better protect populations displaced by weather-related disasters and support efforts to build resilience in the United States and across the world. A 2021 White House report recommended the creation of a standing interagency policy process on Climate Change and Migration to coordinate the U.S.'s response to migration resulting from climate change, but such a process has yet to be established.
“Climate change is creating a widespread humanitarian crisis, as weather-related disasters, drought, famine and rising sea levels increasingly force individuals across the world to leave their homes,” Norton wrote. “The scale of the challenge requires coordination among different parts of the U.S. government, which is why an interagency working group is necessary.”
The full letter follows.
May 1, 2023
The Honorable Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
President of the United States
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20500
Dear Mr. President:
We ask that you establish a standing interagency working group on climate change and migration pursuant to your administration’s recommendation in the 2021 “Report on the Impact of Climate Change on Migration.” By establishing the interagency group, the administration can respond to the urgency of climate displacement with policies that support climate-affected communities and individuals in building resilience in the United States and across the world.
Climate change is creating a widespread humanitarian crisis, as weather-related disasters, drought, famine and rising sea levels increasingly force individuals across the world to leave their homes. The Norwegian Refugee Council’s Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre estimates that weather-related events have displaced 5.9 million people. The scale of the challenge requires coordination among different parts of the U.S. government, which is why an interagency working group is necessary.
We applaud Executive Order 14013, “Rebuilding and Enhancing Programs to Resettle Refugees and Planning for the Impact of Climate Change on Migration,” which directs the National Security Advisor to prepare a report on climate change and its impact on migration. Similarly, we commend the publication of the White House’s “Report on the Impact of Climate Change on Migration,” which recognized that “[t]he climate crisis is reshaping our world, as the Earth’s climate is now changing faster than at any point in the history of modern civilization.”[1] One of the report’s key recommendations is the establishment of “a standing interagency policy process on Climate Change and Migration to coordinate U.S. Government efforts to mitigate and respond to migration resulting from the impacts of climate change that brings together representatives across the scientific, development, humanitarian, and peace and security elements of the U.S. Government.”[2] As the report recognizes, “[p]ro-active coordination, coherent policy, and effective programming across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus . . . is essential to address migration and displacement issues . . . .”[3] This report marks the first time the U.S. government officially reported on the link between climate change and migration.
We urge you to establish the interagency working group to scale up coordination efforts to protect climate displaced individuals. Furthermore, we request that the interagency working group publicly identify its members and share a proposed timeline for its work. Given that climate change and climate-related events will grow in severity, the interagency working group can provide a venue for developing long-term strategies consistent with the evolving scientific understanding of climate impacts and respect for human rights.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Eleanor Holmes Norton
James P. McGovern
Jill Tokuda
Raúl M. Grijalva
Nydia M. Velázquez
Jesús G. “Chuy” García
Jan Schakowsky
Paul D. Tonko
Dwight Evans
Melanie Stansbury
Nanette Diaz Barragán
Jamaal Bowman, Ed.D.
Stephen F. Lynch
Adam Smith
Yvette D. Clarke
Veronica Escobar
Lloyd Doggett
Juan Vargas
Katie Porter
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Valerie P. Foushee
Sydney Kamlager-Dove
Rashida Tlaib
Adriano Espaillat
Greg Casar
Adam B. Schiff
Bonnie Watson Coleman
Jennifer L. McClellan
Chrissy Houlahan
Glenn Ivey
Earl Blumenauer
Pramila Jayapal
Jamie Raskin
Grace Meng
Judy Chu
David J. Trone
Summer Lee
Jimmy Gomez
Julia Brownley
Becca Balint
Ilhan Omar
Sylvia R. Garcia
Jared Huffman
Delia C. Ramirez
Cori Bush
Suzanne Bonamici
Dan Goldman
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