Understanding Climate Migration

Environmental causes for migration are not new, but as climate change and extreme weather events increase in frequency and intensity, domestic and international displacement will continue to rise. The World Bank has predicted as a worst-case scenario that up to 216 million people could become internally displaced by 2050, but if concrete steps are taken now, that could be reduced by 80 percent.

Join the World Affairs Council for a virtual program on December 11 as we discuss with Kanta Kumari Riguard, Lead Environmental Specialist at the World Bank, and Mariam Traore Chazalnoel, Acting Chief of the Climate Action Unit at the International Organization for Migration, on what current trends on climate-related migration and displacement look like and the global implications.

About Our Speakers

Dr. Kanta Kumari Rigaud is a Lead Environmental Specialist at the World Bank with more than 25 years of professional experience in natural resources management, environmental management, and climate change adaptation. She joined the World Bank in 2004 and has worked in the Middle East North Africa Region, the Climate Change Group, and is currently working in the Africa Region as the Regional Climate Change Coordinator. In her current role, she led the development of the Next Generation Africa Climate Business Plan and continues to support the rollout and implementation of the plan and associate knowledge work working with teams across the institution. She also works directly in Uganda and Kenya, including on their National Determined Contributions.

Kanta has led numerous analytics and knowledge-based flagship reports at the World Bank. As the lead author of the flagship report Groundswell - Preparing for Internal Climate Migration, she worked with a multidisciplinary team from leading research institutions to provide insights on the plausible scale of climate induced migration. She has continued to lead on the deep divers of climate induced migration in West Africa and Lake Victoria Basin countries –  with a view to inform policy dialogue and action on these fronts.

Kanta is the co-chair of the Technical Working Group on Environmental Change and Migration in KNOMAD; and sits on the External Expert Advisory Board (EEAB) to the HABITABLE project – Linking Climate Change, Habitability and Social Tipping Points: Scenarios for Climate Migration; and a member of the IUCN task force and Working group on Nature-Based Solutions at the Nexus of Environmental Change, Conflict, and Migration. She has served as panelist and speaker in several forums with leading institutions, universities and agencies on climate change, climate adaptation, and climate migration.

Kanta holds a Ph. D. from the University of East Anglia and was the recipient of the British Chevening Scholarship and the World Bank Graduate Scholarship award for her doctoral dissertation. She has a Master of Science in Behavioral Ecology from the University of Stirling, UK;  a First-Class Bachelor of Science honors degree in Ecology; and a Diploma in Education from the University of Malaya. She has authored several publications and reports on natural resources, environmental, and climate issues.

Mariam Traore Chazalnoël is currently the Acting Chief of the UN Migration (IOM) Climate Action Unit. Previously she served the UN Migration Agency as a Senior Policy Officer, with specific expertise in Migration, Environment, and Climate Change.  She is based at the United Nations Migration Agency (IOM) Headquarters in Geneva. Mariam has been working on policy issues related to climate change and migration since 2013 and has authored and edited several articles and publications on this topic. Mariam has been working with IOM since 2008 in different positions in Geneva, Bamako, and New York. She holds a graduate degree in development and international relations from Aalborg Universitet, Aalborg, Denmark.

About Our Moderator

Cheryl Steele is the vice president of Global Security & Resilience (Chief Security Officer) at Starbucks Coffee Company, a global Fortune 150 company operating more than 38,000 retail locations in 86 markets around the world. Cheryl oversees safety and security operations for all Starbucks partners (employees) and facilities (retail, non-retail, and manufacturing). She leads the company’s crisis management and business resiliency efforts. Based in Seattle, Cheryl’s team includes partners in Hong Kong, London, and Shanghai. Cheryl serves as an active member of OSAC, the International Security Management Association (ISMA), and the International Women’s Forum – WA Chapter. She is a former consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton and a former diplomat with the U.S. Department of State.

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