Emerging issues CLIMATE CHANGE AND STATELESSNESS The risk of statelessness can increase when people move, including during displacement caused by climate change and disasters. People who are already stateless face specific and heightened risks in the context of climate change and disasters, because of pre-existing vulnerabilities. Therefore, specific efforts are needed to include stateless persons in climate action, to strengthen their protection and resilience.23 Climate-change-induced displacement can also increase the risk of affected people becoming stateless; therefore risk mitigation is essential, including by ensuring that nationality laws include safeguards to prevent statelessness (in line with Actions 2 and 3) and that people have access to civil registration and nationality documentation (in line with Actions 7 and 8). These actions are therefore critical in areas that are more prone to climate-induced adversity. In addition, information about the risks of statelessness and practical steps to prevent and reduce it needs to be incorporated into all planning documents, policy guidelines and information on climate change, disasters and displacement. It is essential to ensure that practical measures, plans and policies designed to mitigate, respond to and adapt to the impacts of climate change and disasters provide adequate protection for stateless persons, including in terms of access to services and disaster relief. Further research, exchanges and collaboration are required to better understand and effectively address the impacts of climate change on the risks of statelessness and stateless persons. RISKS AND OPPORTUNITIES WITH THE ROLL-OUT OF NEW DIGITAL IDENTITY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS National initiatives to establish new biometric and digitized identity management systems offer opportunities to eradicate statelessness by identifying individuals who are stateless, of undetermined nationality or simply unable to prove their nationality and referring them for administrative or legal assistance to explore how their situations can be resolved. Nevertheless, these initiatives also present risks of further exclusion if the registration of these individuals is simply rejected. These risks need to be addressed with appropriate legal safeguards, robust data protection frameworks and good governance and rule of law frameworks, as well as predictable referral pathways to address the situation of individuals with unclear nationality status, together with effective legal remedies and independent oversight to challenge decisions on nationality status. UNHCR will continue to negotiate with States and other actors and advocate for regulatory frameworks and other relevant measures that can effectively contribute to preventing and resolving statelessness and protecting stateless persons in the context of digital identity management systems. 12 GLOBAL ACTION PLAN TO END STATELESSNESS 2.0