World Bank: Libya is a destination for climate change migration by 2050

Libya could be a hub of climate migration by 2050, with some 216 million people forced to migrate around the world, due to changing climatic conditions, the World Bank has said.

The World Bank said that countries such as Libya, Egypt, Algeria and Morocco will become a migration hotbed due to the availability of water, as people will migrate from coastal and inland areas where water shortages worsen, towards the northeast coast of Tunisia, the northwest coast of Algeria and in western and southern Morocco, as well as in the foothills of the central, eastern and western parts of Egypt’s Nile, including Alexandria.

Disruptions in water availability are likely to be the main drive of internal climate migrations, as mass displacement from areas where livelihoods are threatened will intensify, pushing migrants to areas that provide better living conditions, to escape the effects of increased water pressure, reduced agricultural productivity, and sea level rise exacerbated by storms, forcing people to migrate as a matter of emergency.

The World Bank report called for serious reductions in global greenhouse gas emissions and ensuring inclusive and resilient development to help reduce internal migration due to climate change.