The Problem

Cover photo by John Matthew Flores on Unsplash 

                As the risks and implications of climate change worsen, the number of people displaced from their homes grows. Rising temperatures, prolonged droughts, flooding, sea-level rise, and crop failures are making some regions increasingly difficult to inhabit. These environmental stressors threaten people’s livelihoods and affect food production, water availability, and infrastructure. As a result of these stressors, people are forced to relocate, many without another place to call home.

         Although not everyone around the globe is experiencing the effects of climate change at the same rate, data have shown that the past couple of years have been the warmest ever recorded. With that, the rate at which climate change is happening is concerningly fast, a rate which has not been seen in the past 10,000 years (nasa.gov). This change has been shown through extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, which have become more frequent and severe in recent years and will continue to do so. Greenhouse gases have reached a record high in 2024, and Carbon dioxide has been accumulating in the atmosphere faster than we’ve experienced in human existence on Earth (United Nations).

The changing climate is no longer a problem for our future; it is a problem now. In 2024, there were 45.8 million disaster-related internal displacements, not accounting for external displacements (IMDC). In the past 10 years, there have been over 250 million internal displacements due to weather-related disasters (Berner et al., pg. 5). Many displaced people prefer to stay within their country, whether it be from familiarity or lack of resources. It is important that in these unfortunate circumstances, people will have safe and stable places to relocate, along with communities that are prepared to welcome and support them. 

With migration comes worry surrounding whether the sudden movement will cause citizens from the host country/city to have less space or lose job opportunities. Luckily, studies have shown that migration from poorer to richer countries can reduce poverty and increase migrants' gains, without harming the host country (worldbank.org). With that, immigrants do not increase the unemployment rate; instead, the economy has a chance to grow (Costa et al.). Another study showed that adult refugees receiving cash aid increased the annual income of the local economy, even over the amount of aid they received (Taylor et al.). There is a lot of controversy around migration regarding how it affects those in host communities, but research shows that migration can effectively boost an economy, along with providing those in need a helping start.