Climate refugee

A Climate refugee is a displaced person caused by climate change induced environmental disasters. Such disasters are evidence of human-influenced ecological change and disruption to Earth's climate system, primarily through the emissions of green house gases. Humankind has drastically altered the chemical composition of the global atmosphere, with profound implications for climate. [IPCC, 2007:Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fouth Assessment Report of the intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor and H.L. Miller (eds.)] . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA.]

Disturbances result in increased droughts, desertification, sea level rise, and the more frequent occurrence of extreme weather events such as hurricanes, cyclones, flooding and tornadoes. A statistically significant correlation between environmental degradation including climate change was shown by Afifi and Warner (2007), controlling for the already established major drivers of migration. [Afifi, T., Warner, K. 2007 "The Impact of Environmental Degradation on Migration Flows across Countries" UNU-EHS working paper no. 3. Bonn.]

Definition

There is no set definition of what constitutes a climate refugee, and they are often classified as environmental refugees. Others consider climate refugees as a subcategory of environmental refugees. A paper by Renaud, Bogardi et al. (2007) posed a conceptual framework to understand different categories of people on the move in response to environmental disruptions including climate change. [Renaud, F., Bogardi, J., Dun, O., Warner, K. (2007) "Control, Adapt, or Flee: How to face environmental migration?" InterSections No. 5/7. United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS), Bonn. Available at [www.ehs.unu.edu] ]

The use of the term "refugee" itself is controversial, the main concern being that use of the term "refugee" for climate or environment-related displacement could detract from those people protected under the 1951 Geneva Convention (which protects political refugees from persecution) (see Dun, Gemenne, and Stojanov 2007 for further discussion) [Dun, O., Gemenne, F., Stojanov, R. "Environmentally displaced persons: Working Definitions for the EACH-FOR project", paper presented at the International Conference on Migration and Development in Ostrava, Czech Republic on 5 September 2007] . No central tally is kept by the United Nations of either classification. In the "World Disasters Report 2001 [http://www.ifrc.org/publicat/wdr2001/] " published by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, more people are now forced to leave their homes because of environmental disasters than war. They estimate approximately 25 million people could currently be classified as being environmental refugees. [" [http://www.ifrc.org/publicat/wdr2001/ World Disasters Report 2001] " International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. Accessed August 4, 2008]

First use of the term

The term "Climate Refugee" "(in french, Réfugiés Climatiques)" was used for the first time by the photographers/journalists from the Collectif ARGOS, based in Paris, who started their investigations on the subject in 2002 [" [http://www.photosapiens.com/Chroniques-Nomades-2006-10eme.html?artsuite=4 Collectif Argos : les réfugiés climatiques] ", Photosapiens.com, October 2006, Accessed August 5, 2008] and won a prize for their work in 2005. The photos are available on their website. [ [http://www.collectifargos.com/Avec-les-refugies-climatiques,6,29,1 "Avec les réfugiés climatiques"] , Collectif Argos website, Accessed August 4, 2008] The construct is built on (first) publication by Vogt 1946, using the term 'ecological displaced persons'.Fact|date=August 2008

Predictions

Norman Myers of Oxford University has estimated climate change will increase the number of environmental refugees six-fold over the next fifty years to 150 million. Australian climate scientist Dr. Graeme Pearman has predicted that a 2°C rise in temperature would place 100 million people 'directly at risk from coastal flooding' by 2100. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has suggested 150 million environmental refugees would exist by 2050. Because the actual phenomena of climate change affecting human movement has not yet been empirically, systematically addressed, the European Commission funded a research project "Environmental Change and Forced Migration Scenarios (EACH-FOR)" to investigate, measure, and create scenarios for future environmental change. The project undertakes 24 case studies worldwide with a unified methodology, and will report its findings throughout 2008 (www.each-for.eu). [" [http://www.each-for.eu/index.php?module=main Environmental Change and Forced Migration Scenarios (EACH-FOR)] " Accessed August 4, 2008]

The first climate refugees

In 2005, half of Bhola Island in Bangladesh became permanently flooded, leaving 500,000 people homeless. The Bhola Islanders have been described as some of the world's first climate refugees [ [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/26/AR2007092602582.html "In Flood-Prone Bangladesh, a Future That Floats"] , Emily Wax, "Washington Post", September 27, 2007] . In 2007, a Bangladeshi scientist stated: "We're already seeing hundreds of thousands of climate refugees moving into slums in Dhaka." ["ibid"] These refugees were fleeing flooded coastal areas.

The inhabitants of the Carteret Islands in Papua New Guinea are also among the first climate refugees due to sea level rise attributed to global warming and climate change [ [http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2002/03/29/1017206152551.html "Islanders face rising seas with nowhere to go"] , Greg Roberts, "Sydney Morning Herald", march 30, 2002] [ [http://canberra.yourguide.com.au/news/opinion/opinion/rudds-chance-to-rebuild-ties-with-the-pacific/1197018.html "Rudd's chance to rebuild ties with the Pacific"] , David Peebles, "Canberra Times", March 6, 2008] . Other inhabitants of low lying islands and Island states, are also at risk. Tuvalu, Kiribati and the Maldives are especially susceptible to changes in sea level and storm surges [ [http://www.stuff.co.nz/4424171a12.html "Sinking Pacific atolls 'may be abandoned in a generation'"] , AAP, March 4, 2008] [ [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iQmBUlYskvnKT0CLHBucXxY5_wKAD8UP336O0 "Tiny Nations Seek Climate Help at UN"] , John Heilprin, AP, February 12, 2008] [ [http://www.abcnews.go.com/WNT/story?id=3002001&page=1 "Kiribati's President: 'Our Lives Are At Stake': For the Islands of Kiribati, Global Warming Poses Immediate Dangers"] , ABC News, April 2, 2007 (with [http://www.abcnews.go.com/WNT/popup?id=3001408 photos] )] .

ee also

*Displaced person
*Climate change
*Environmental refugee

External links

* [http://www.forcedmigration.org/browse/thematic/climate-change/ Summary of resources] . Summary page providing links to many key resources, websites and documents related to climate change, environmental change, disasters and forced migration. Forced Migration Online, 2008
* [http://www.forcedmigration.org/podcasts/hague-climate-debate/ When home gets too hot: Human Displacement and Climate Change in International Law] . Podcast recorded by Radio Netherlands Worldwide at the first of The Hague Debates on Thursday, 22 May 2008.
* [http://www.nrc.no/?did=9268973 Future floods of refugees] . Report published by the Norwegian Refugee Council, 2008
* [http://www.safecom.org.au/foe-climate-guide.htm A Citizens Guide to Climate Refugees] . Published by Friends of the Earth Australia, 2005
* [http://www.collectifargos.com/ Photos from ARGOS photojournalists]
*http://www.each-for.eu/ regularly updated information about fieldwork on environmental change and forced migration scenarios
* [http://ssrn.com/abstract=950329 Providing new homes for climate exiles]
* [http://www.starr.tv/ www.starr.tv ]
*http://www.liser.org/

References