Forced evictions and climate change: the damaging impact on risks and emissions

Forced evictions of informal settlements not only violate human rights but also hinder climate mitigation and adaptation efforts.

In a context where the climate crisis is increasingly resulting in people’s displacement and responses to climate change are also driving evictions, this paper offers evidence about how forced evictions exacerbate all dimensions of vulnerability and exposure to climate risks.

It also reveals that in Nigeria, forced evictions of informal settlements during the past 25 years could have generated over 2.46 million metric tonnes of CO2e, which would take a forest the size of Paris eleven years to absorb.

By contrast, in-situ upgrading offers a low-carbon approach, cutting emissions by up to 66% compared to evictions followed by relocation.

These findings have profound implications for urban redevelopment and emissions worldwide.