Current Initiatives

Today our work focuses on the Refugee and Migrant Forum, the UK Climate Change and Migration Coalition and network building across Europe. We also offer training for organisations and groups who want to know more about the issues.

Refugee and Migrant Climate Change Forum

The Refugee and Migrant Forum first met in 2009. The idea was to provide a space for refugees and migrants in the UK to come together to talk about climate change concerns. It quickly emerged that participants saw a role for themselves as potential ambassadors for their countries of origin where the negative impacts of climate change are increasingly evident. Today we offer free training and capacity building support to refugee community organisations who want to take action on climate change and work with individuals who want to increase awareness of climate change in refugee and migrant communities.  If you are an individual or an organisation interested in getting involved in the forum we’d love to hear from you. Please email Hannah on Hannah@coinet.org.uk. 

UK Climate Change and Migration Coalition

We also coordinate the UK Climate Change and Migration Coalition (UKCCMC) an exciting new initiative that aims to give a voice to secure justice for those who are displaced or at risk of displacement linked to climate change.  

The Coalition was launched in March 2011 (photo to right) and brings together six different organisations (including COIN) – Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Migrants Rights Network (MRN), The Evelyn Oldfield Unit and Praxis.

The Coalition believes that people should have the right to move where climate change threatens life, livelihoods and the habitability of land. We also believe that we have a duty to ensure it does not come to this and so our work must also focus on prevention. Limiting the likelihood of forced movement means work to limit emissions and promote effective adaptation and this includes offering people the choice to move in response to climate change impacts.  For more information on the Coalition and the key debates and issues please see our website here.  

The launch of the Coalition is made possible with the generous support of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation.

Work with Europe

In Europe, COIN is working with the Danish and Norwegian Refugee Councils and the German NGO Bread for the World. We are currently looking at whether it might be possible to host a joint European conference for civil society groups in 2012 but as yet we have no funding to support this.