Climate Refugees: The World’s Forgotten Victims 

Who are climate refugees?

The term “climate refugees” has been used since 1985 when UN Environment Programme (UNEP) expert Essam El-Hinnawi defined climate refugees – also called climate or environmental migrants – as people who have been “forced to leave their traditional habitat, temporarily or permanently, because of marked environmental disruption.” However, the extent of the definition continues to be ambiguous.

A “refugee” according to the 1951 Convention Relating to Status of Refugee is defined as a person who has crossed an international border “owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion”. Climate change affects the people in the country and mostly causes internal displacement before stepping up to a situation wherein people are forced to move across the borders of their homeland. However, there might be instances where people may claim for refugee status when there are adverse effects of climate interacting with armed conflict and violence. 

Environmental refugees are not protected by international laws and they face greater political risks than refugees who move out from their countries due to conflicts or political suppression. These people who are declined refugee status have only limited access to legal protection of their human rights and face risks like deportation. 

Why should we care?

Climate-related migration and displacement I set to be the greatest challenge of our era. It is known well that global warming impacts every living being but the fact that how largely climate change is going to affect the future human migration is still being overlooked and underestimated. Climate-induced displacement is on the rise. Last year there was displacement of 16.1 million people due to factors related to climate or climate change. It is estimated that, by 2050, between 150 to 200 million people will be at risk of being forced to leave their homes as a result of desertification, rising sea levels, and extreme weather conditions.

This is not just an issue for fragile states, as the changing patterns of human migration mean that more people are forced to flee their communities in search of safe havens. It is the world’s most vulnerable people who are made to bear the brunt of climate change, though they are the least responsible for causing it, and are ill-equipped to deal with the consequences. With climate change intensifying humanitarian needs, international humanitarian agencies are overwhelmed, increasingly stretched, and lack the funding required to address these issues.

Extreme weather, climate change, rising temperatures, and natural disasters exacerbated due to climatic changes are damaging the ecosystems and threatening the lives of millions of people leading to climate refugee mass movements. A collective effort is awaited to solve this issue of climate migration and help the world’s forgotten victims of climate change. 

Global warming, primarily caused by human activities like burning fossil fuels and deforestation, leads to climate change. This phenomenon results in rising temperatures, causing the melting of glaciers and ice caps. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) predicts a sea-level rise of 0.18 to 0.6 meters between 1990 and 2100, impacting low-lying coastal areas worldwide.

In Bangladesh, where half the population lives within 5 meters above sea level, rising sea levels have already submerged areas like Bhola Island, displacing 500,000 people. Predictions indicate a potential loss of 17% of Bangladesh's land by 2050, forcing around 20 million climate refugees. Similarly, the U.S. state of Louisiana faces annual land loss to the sea, affecting fisheries and increasing vulnerability to storms like Hurricane Katrina.

The Maldives, an island nation with its highest point just 2.4 meters above sea level, faces a severe threat. Sea-level rise endangers its economy, heavily dependent on tourism and fishing. The influx of freshwater from melting ice caps jeopardizes coral reefs and fisheries. The country's leaders have collaborated with neighbouring nations to plan an evacuation program in case of uninhabitability. Venice, Italy, built on islands in a lagoon, experiences increased flooding due to rising sea levels. Dependent on tourism, the city faces economic decline and potential migration as flooding damages infrastructure and cultural sites.

Coastal cities worldwide, including Manhattan, London, Shanghai, Hamburg, Bangkok, Jakarta, Mumbai, Manila, and Buenos Aires, are susceptible to sea-level rise. Drought, another consequence of global warming, drives climate refugees inland. Regions like the Gobi Desert in China and areas near the Sahara lose productive land annually, leading to migration to urban centres. In the Horn of Africa, severe drought forces subsistence farmers to abandon their land, resulting in refugee crises in countries like Kenya. 

In summary, global warming-induced climate change poses severe threats, including sea-level rise impacting coastal regions and drought-induced migration in inland areas, affecting economies and ecosystems globally. The interplay between climate, conflict, poverty, and persecution greatly increases the complexity of refugee emergencies. The interconnection of climate change, conflict, poverty, and persecution complicates refugee emergencies. In Somalia, worsening droughts, coupled with Al-Shabab-related violence, drive internal displacement and migration to Ethiopia. Climate-induced crises, like Cyclone Idai, affect existing refugee populations. Forced displacement intensifies tensions over resources, land, and essentials, potentially sparking conflicts between refugees and host communities, and amplifying the impact of climate change on refugee emergencies.

Health & Climate Refugees

The climate crisis is affecting individuals and global public health systems in almost every region of the world. This is particularly evident in the rising cases of malnutrition due to droughts and the increasing incidence of water-borne diseases such as cholera due to floods, which negatively affects already weakened and overstretched health systems, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

Refugees and migrants have specific physical and mental health needs linked to their exposure to climate and environmental conditions, and their vulnerability must be considered in a whole-of-route approach. They have a relevant number of health risks before, during, and after their journeys, with access to primary care and continuity of health care often disrupted due to migration, weak health system capacity, barriers (eg, gender, cultural, financial, social, and linguistic), and several other stressors, including abuse and exploitation.

All these points bring our attention to this issue which has serious repercussions on the societies globally. It is now high time to take up the SDGs and the goals of the Paris Agreement seriously and take conscious steps towards the same by framing policies and educating people about the gravity of the issue.

We don’t really try to gauge the expanse of the effects climate change can have on the entirety of the earth. People don’t think of the bad impact a single-use plastic thrown away in the open can have on the environment and whatnot. It is important to understand that change begins from within, the efficient policies framed can only be successfully implemented if all of us contribute to it in our own small ways. If we don’t achieve our aims and goals set it would become an even more difficult task to come out of such issues.

We need to take rigorous steps before the displacements that are hugely happening within the countries start turning into huge international refugee movements.

References:

UNHCR: https://www.unhcr.org/in/search?search=climate%20refugees&sm_site_name%5B%5D=India%20site

https://www.unhcr.org/in/news/stories/climate-change-and-displacement

https://www.unrefugees.org/news/how-climate-change-impacts-refugees-and-displaced-communities/

https://www.unep.org/facts-about-climate-emergency?gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAiA44OtBhAOEiwAj4gpOZxSBDmHVQ7nxke70_M-mVpK_jTtgTI0MBvARdQjDWQiBRkW75Ot4xoCLMYQAvD_BwE

World Economic Forum: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/06/how-climate-change-exacerbates-the-refugee-crisis-and-what-can-be-done-about-it/

https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/06/climate-refugees-the-world-s-forgotten-victims/

Journal of Global Health: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10037158/

Natioal Geographic: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/environmental-refugee/