BLOG POST 14: WHO ARE CLIMATE REFUGEES?

Refugee crisis is a growing political agenda in recent years. UNHCR reported that there were 121,837​ refugees, 40,365​ pending asylum cases and 97 stateless persons in the UK in 2017. The global number of refugee is projected to increase in a long term because of increasing number of climate refugee due to extreme weather events. Climate refugees are“people who must leave their homes and communities because of the effects of climate change and global warming” (National Geographic Society, 2016). According to the International Federation of the Red Cross there are more environmental refugees than political refugees. However, it is hard to estimate the accurate number of climate refugees as most of climate refugees migrate locally and regionally. No matter where they migrate they face various kind of challenges to settle in a new place.

Causes of climate refugees

As you can imagine, people become climate refugees due to natural disasters caused by climate change. For example, it could be hurricane, drought, heatwave and see level rise. Natural disasters are getting more and more frequent and powerful, which devastate agricultural industry and infrastructure. In Bangladesh, 6 million people were either seriously affected or displaced by the natural disasters such as floods and tropical cyclones in recent years. Since majority of people in developing countries work in agricultural industry, crop failure due to the extreme weather leads to a critical impact on them. Food security deteriorates because of loss of livelihood and higher food price, which could be underlying cause of political instability that produces further refugees.

Domestic migration

Once those vulnerable farmers lost their source of income, they first migrate within their country, namely they migrate to cities in search of jobs. What awaits those migrants is slams and illegal jobs. They settle in slums where crimes and violence are pervasive. In some cases, they have to leave city because of violence by gang. Even if they find a way to live in a city, it is challenging to secure their livelihood. Around 90% of employment in cities of developing countries is informal jobs which usually have no regulation on working conditions and wage.

International migration

Migrants who failed to settle in a city find a reliable source of income head to another country in search of safer place and employment. They first migrate to neighboring country. According to UNHCR, 85% of refugees are hosted by developing countries. When they arrive at boarder they have to apply for refugee status in order to enter a foreign country. Definition of refugee in the Refugee Convention is“someone who is unable or unwilling to return to their country of origin owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion.” This definition exclude those who migrate due to climate change, therefore they are not likely to be given legal status as a refugee. This means they cannot work, they have no access to financial and social aids including language course and child education from host country. They are forced to stay in a refugee camp. Even if they manage to enter a country, they continue to face challenges such as cultural difference, language barrier and poverty.   

Climate change is chiefly caused by developed countries, however people in the developing world suffer from damages caused by climate change. They are forced to leave their land, often leaving their family. They are forced to live and work in harsh condition. And they are denied to seek asylum. Who should be responsible for them? Is it just to refuse climate refugees by erupting a wall or using tear gas?

Reference

Ahmed, B. (2017). Who takes responsibility for the climate refugees?. International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management.

Keivani, R. (2010). A review of the main challenges to urban sustainability. International Journal of Urban Sustainable Development, 1(1-2), pp.5-16.

Milman, O., Holden, E. and Agren, D. (2019). The unseen driver behind the migrant caravan: climate change. The Guardian. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/oct/30/migrant-caravan-causes-climate-change-central-america [Accessed 6 Mar. 2019].

Refugees, U. (2019). Asylum in the UK. [online] UNHCR. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/asylum-in-the-uk.html [Accessed 6 Mar. 2019].

Refugees, U. (2019). What is a refugee?. [online] UNHCR. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/what-is-a-refugee.html [Accessed 6 Mar. 2019].

Weinthal, E., Zawahri, N. and Sowers, J. (2015). Securitizing Water, Climate, and Migration in Israel, Jordan, and Syria. International Environmental Agreements: Politics, Law and Economics, 15(3), pp.293-307.