Calgary’s Centre For Newcomers (CFN) has been at the forefront of work being done internationally to help solve a potential 200 million-person-strong problem: How climate change is likely to create waves of climate refugees.

That work took CFN to the United Nations in Sept., where senior leadership of the Calgary-based organization participated in the Summit of the Future which sought to bring together international perspectives on some of the world’s most pressing issues.

Those issues, said Jon Yee, Vice President of External Relations for the Centre for Newcomers, are hardly hypothetical—just look to the dual hurricanes that have hit Florida in Oct. as examples.

“They’ve had a major hurricane happen, and now they’re bracing for a new one. Right now, because of the political climate in the states and no funding for FEMA, those people may be looking elsewhere to find homes and safer places to live,” he said.

“They could be looking at Canada, which is very similar to the States so that they can integrate a lot easier. We’re also looking at small island developing states whose islands and coasts are receding, and they’re looking towards finding better refuge as well.”

Although the world may not know where the next climate-caused emergency strikes, Calgary may be the place those fleeing end up at, Yee said.

“We were there to advocate for climate refugees and wanted to build our network to help promote the safe passage of climate refugees. Climate refugees currently do not have any rights or protections internationally or nationally, and so we need those policies implemented into national governments, so that we can prepare for the future,” he said.

“It’s predicted that there will be about 200 million climate refugees by 2050 and if we don’t prepare our infrastructure now, we’ll pay for it later on, and it’ll be a lot more costly.”

Statistics from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, as of June 30, 2024, saw that there were some 218,593 pending refugee applications to Canada.

Climate is not currently recognized as a cause for refugee status

According to reporting done by CBS News in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which hit the Big Bend area of Florida on Sept. 26, victims of the storm had between five and 25 per cent coverage depending on the county.

Outside of Florida in states where Helene caused severe flooding, that percentage is closer to one.

None of those individuals displaced as a result of extreme weather, either in Florida or elsewhere, qualify as refugees due to current standards that are based on violence and persecution.

Yee said that while the CFN was in New York for the summit, they were able to connect with other NGOs, as well as national governments to have high-level conversations on the issue.

It’s something he said was extremely important for the ongoing conversation, but also for Calgarians.

“It’s extremely important because when we don’t have a voice at a table, no action will happen. We thought that, as an organization with newcomers, we thought we could be impactful. We’re boots on the ground, and usually, it’s governments making these decisions. So with our participation, we can give our experience and our best practices to those who are willing to listen,” he said.

The feedback and work that was undertaken is already making its way to the city, through followup meetings with other non-profits and social service agencies in Calgary.

That has already led to the CFN taking on work with #NotInMyCity, and being invited to meet with the International Labour Organization and the International Organization for Migration to help stop human trafficking.

That area of interest, said Yee, has a lot of overlap with the work being done for climate refugees, and for other evacuees and refugees from conflict.

“It’s the entire thing of the UN’s leave no one behind and transformational education. We need to transform our governance, our policies, the way we work, in order to do the best that we can do to help people,” he said.

“We can’t work in a siloed industry anymore. We can’t work in silos anymore, and not only us, but governments and other organizations have been trying to dismantle these silos for years, because we know that we need cooperation, and without cooperation, we’re going to be stuck.”