Melting glaciers and rising seas may drive mass migration, ActionAid warns

NEW YORK, 25 September 2019 – As the IPCC release the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, Harjeet Singh, ActionAid’s global lead on climate change, said: 

“Millions living in low lying coastal areas and along riverbanks will be forced to flee, as their homes and land are washed away or swallowed up.
 
"Fresh water resources will be contaminated, crops and farmlands destroyed and this may lead to conflicts over scarce resources. The world must unite and act urgently or face total chaos.
 
“Rich countries have a bigger responsibility to dramatically cut their carbon pollution and to help the most vulnerable people prepare for the possible climate catastrophe.”
 
Harjeet is available for interviews in New York: 
 
Harjeet Singh is ActionAid's global lead on climate change. He specialises in the impacts of climate change on the Global South, including migration and urgent need for climate finance. He is on the board of the Climate Action Network (CAN) and coordinates the working group on adaptation and loss & damage. Harjeet will be analysing outcomes from the UN Climate Action Summit. He speaks English and Hindi. Follow him on Twitter @harjeet11.
 
More on ActionAid’s Climate Justice work is available here. 
 
Contact: kate.donovan@actionaid.org  Cell: +17183620606
 
ActionAid
ActionAid is a global movement of people fighting for women’s rights, social justice and an end to poverty. For more information visit www.actionaid.org