Immobility in a changing climate (ITHACA)

PROJECT INFORMATION

Immobility in a changing climate (ITHACA)

Principal investigator (PI):

Patricia Pinho, Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental da Amazonia, Brasília - DF, Brazil

E-mail: patricia.pinho@ipam.org.br, Phone: +55 11 94272-6826

Duration & amount:

(April 2023 - 2026) USD 150,000

Participating countries:

Brazil, Ghana, Mozambique, Suecia, and the United States of America

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

ITHACA is a 3-year Belmont project that aims to address the overlooked area of immobility (voluntary or involuntary) as a potential mechanism for adaptation under a changing climate. The project will shed urgent light on two specific aspects: the reasons to stay (by choice or by constraints) and the reasons people return after being affected by climate impacts. We ask: What are life chances for those who stay? Are there new opportunities? How much potential is lost or reduced by climate warming? What kinds of policies and capacities need to be developed for those who stay and people who return? Are there cases where climate policy support will not be provided for people who return? ITHACA presents novel methodologies to empirically study immobility in five case studies of coastal urban sites globally (Bahamas, Brazil, Ghana, Mozambique and Sweden) led by local researchers and facilitated by the Belmont Forum in each nation. With Consortium Lead Principal Investigator (CL) LUCSUS, ITHACA is also a collaboration between natural and social sciences with strength in interdisciplinary aspects of social sciences, governance and human-centric approaches to climate change vulnerability. Building on the aspiration / capability framework the project focuses on well-being evaluation in terms of people's capabilities to preserve and improve things of value. The focus on immobility is also important for future governance. Immobile populations will require diverse support and finance to cope with climate extremes and processes. We examine the role for national and international finance and support for immobile populations to develop capabilities and resilience. We contextualise the project within highly vulnerable, but overlooked, 'hotspots' in coastal urban sites already experiencing loss and damage. The project presents novel policy findings and tools relevant to the UNFCCC Global Stocktake, Sustainable Development Goals (10,11, 13 and 16) and Global Compact on Migration.