On 23 February 2021, the World Forum for Democracy addressed “Climate change and forced migration: A crisis in the making” in its Forum talk, organised in the margins of the 9th Forum running from November 2020 to November 2021. Rising sea levels flooding, wildfires, droughts, and other disasters are increasing due to climate change, putting stress on communities and even forcing people to leave their homes. The Forum Talk addressed this global challenge together with experts from politics, academia, law and inter-governmental organisations.

The theme of the Forum this year is “Can Democracy Save the Environment?” and it explores the issue from several perspectives every month. In February, the Forum explored the issue of “Disasters, displacement and climate change”, aiming at answering the following questions: “How can States support and protect vulnerable populations? What possibilities for solving this problem are emerging from the international arena? What lessons can be learned from grassroots initiatives that are already dealing with these problems? How can public authorities and civil society engage in effective prevention or mitigation of dangers to human and non-human populations caused by extreme weather and precarious environmental conditions?”.

The World Forum for Democracy brings together reformers and global leaders to identify democratic responses to challenges which affect our societies today. Organised by the Council of Europe, the World Forum for Democracy is supported by the French Government, the City of Strasbourg and the Alsace Region. The ultimate goal of the World Forum for Democracy is to enable citizens to reclaim their place in political decision-making.