Canada needs to get ready for climate-change refugees, and soon
What happens when the most crowded places in the world are displaced by climate change?
Canada could become a refuge for those fleeing their homes in search of greener pastures. What can we do? Be ready for an influx of climate refugees.
The world’s first official climate refugee is now making his case against deportation from New Zealand to his former home on the Central Pacific atolls of Kiribati, where climate change is wreaking havoc, threatening to put the country underwater. There will be many more climate refugees to come.
Jerry Brown, the governor of California, ordered a state-wide 25 per cent reduction in water consumption on April 1.
As water levels fall in the state for the fourth straight year in rivers, streams and reservoirs, water becomes scarcer for industrial processes, farming and drinking for California’s population of 38 million.
What’s happening in California reflects the impacts of climate change on environments, economies and societies around the world.
Rising sea levels alone are projected to displace potentially millions of people.
The island of Tuvalu is forecast to be swallowed up by the South Pacific by the end of this century. The Maldives and other low-lying archipelagos face a similar fate.
According to a report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, natural disasters displaced 22 million people in 2013 and the International Organization for Migration estimates 200 million will be displaced worldwide by 2050. The countries that will be most affected are those that suffer from poverty and conflict, according to Refugees International.
Where are their residents going to go? Canada may be one attractive option.
Partly because our government is better equipped to respond to natural disasters, and partly because Canada’s temperate climate gives us a greater buffer against extreme temperatures compared to equatorial climes, Canada may be hit less fiercely than developing countries by climate change. Last November, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives proposed a new “climate migrants” immigration class to help Canada navigate the coming influx.
Canadian cities need to find ways of becoming denser while maintaining high quality of life for residents, including water and air quality, green space and public transportation.
Let’s do Canadians of the future a favour and create a climate refugee strategy now. We must look ahead to the big picture rather than simply react to each wave of refugees climate change brings across the border.
Putting the policies in place to become a responsible climate refuge is one sea change we need to make.
Canada could become a refuge for those fleeing their homes in search of greener pastures. What can we do? Be ready for an influx of climate refugees.
The world’s first official climate refugee is now making his case against deportation from New Zealand to his former home on the Central Pacific atolls of Kiribati, where climate change is wreaking havoc, threatening to put the country underwater. There will be many more climate refugees to come.
Jerry Brown, the governor of California, ordered a state-wide 25 per cent reduction in water consumption on April 1.
As water levels fall in the state for the fourth straight year in rivers, streams and reservoirs, water becomes scarcer for industrial processes, farming and drinking for California’s population of 38 million.
What’s happening in California reflects the impacts of climate change on environments, economies and societies around the world.
Rising sea levels alone are projected to displace potentially millions of people.
The island of Tuvalu is forecast to be swallowed up by the South Pacific by the end of this century. The Maldives and other low-lying archipelagos face a similar fate.
According to a report by the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, natural disasters displaced 22 million people in 2013 and the International Organization for Migration estimates 200 million will be displaced worldwide by 2050. The countries that will be most affected are those that suffer from poverty and conflict, according to Refugees International.
Where are their residents going to go? Canada may be one attractive option.
Partly because our government is better equipped to respond to natural disasters, and partly because Canada’s temperate climate gives us a greater buffer against extreme temperatures compared to equatorial climes, Canada may be hit less fiercely than developing countries by climate change. Last November, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives proposed a new “climate migrants” immigration class to help Canada navigate the coming influx.
Canadian cities need to find ways of becoming denser while maintaining high quality of life for residents, including water and air quality, green space and public transportation.
Let’s do Canadians of the future a favour and create a climate refugee strategy now. We must look ahead to the big picture rather than simply react to each wave of refugees climate change brings across the border.
Putting the policies in place to become a responsible climate refuge is one sea change we need to make.
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