The Gentlemen star Theo James has called on world leaders to act on “escalating injustice” for refugees as a result of climate change at the Cop29 climate summit in Azerbaijan.
James, whose grandfather was a refugee who fled Greece for Syria during the Second World War, spoke about his visit to Mauritania earlier this year, where he said refugees in the west of the country had “asked me to personally from them, ‘urge world leaders at Cop to take action’.”
He was speaking at the launch of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) Refugees For Climate Action group, which will see eight refugees come together to “reinforce the representation of displaced communities in the global climate change debate”.
James said his grandfather’s story had “motivated” him to support the cause.
Speaking at the summit, the 39-year-old said: “Here at Cop, I want to draw attention to the concerns of refugees for climate action, because I’ve seen that the people who contribute the least in terms of carbon emissions are often the hardest hit by the climate crisis, which is insanity.
“I know it’s something that you can say in a press conference, but the reality of it is ridiculous.
“This is a new, relatively, and escalating injustice, as we’ve heard of the 120 million people forcibly displaced around the world, 90 million of them are facing high to extreme climate change impacts.
“That’s why more help is needed now, people displaced by impacts of climate change and conflict need protection, and they need help from climate financing, specifically, the people I met in Mauritania and refugees like them are urging our leaders to listen.”
He said that refugees need action “now”, with many having to flee their homes due to war, they are being “pushed to the limits because of climate change and lack of resources”.
“There’s nowhere left for them to go,” he said. “We have to act now to reverse these trends.”
James went on to say “climate shocks are frequent and getting more frequent” in Mauritania causing “seasonal floods followed by crippling droughts and extreme heat”.
Speaking about the people he met on his trip to the African country, he added: “They told me about how life was becoming completely untenable in the desert, and they asked me to, personally from them, ‘urge world leaders at Cop to take action’, and they’re the best people to do so because they are being affected on the ground themselves.
James recalled meeting a woman “who had to flee her home in Mali because of the fighting that had ripped through the country”.
“She told me that the dry season had extended from three to nine months of the year, and she had seen that happen in the last five years, leaving the wells empty and parents frantic about how their children are going to survive.
“I asked her what she wanted to say to people here at Cop and she said, ‘tell them we’re thirsty, tell them we don’t have enough water for ourselves and our children, our cattle and our vegetables, we cannot survive without water’.”
The actor, who has appeared in the Divergent film trilogy, The Time Traveller’s Wife and The White Lotus, said the current situation for refugees had shown him “how short our collective memories are” in remembering the stories of people like his grandfather.
He added: “One of the reasons I am motivated to support this cause, specifically is because of my own family history.
“My grandfather was a refugee who fled the Nazi occupation of Greece and found safe haven in Syria during the Second World War.
“Later, he joined the UN refugee program when it was in its infancy, working as a doctor in Gothenburg, administering vaccines to displaced people of western Europe.
“And I guess that showed me how short our collective memories are in terms of, you know when people are displaced, it was only very recently that Europeans were being forced to flee themselves.
“My family history motivated me to become involved with the UNHCR, and I’ve been privileged to meet incredibly inspiring refugees.”
The UN talks, which take place in Azerbaijan until November 22 and are looking at securing climate finance for low-income countries, come in the wake of devastating weather extremes.
There have been warnings that 2024 is on track to be another record-hot year and the world is heading for a “catastrophic” 3.1C of warming on current policies.
