Climate Refugees
150 Million climate refugees by 2050
“Global warming could create 150 million climate refugees by 2050”
Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment, 2015
Syrian refugees largely climate refugees
“What’s the common factor between the tragic deaths of refugees in the Mediterranean and the Arab spring? Food shortages driven by global warming… Mass migration is no ‘crisis’: it’s the new normal as the climate changes… [The Syrian drought] helped kick things over the threshold into open conflict. And a drought of that severity was made much more likely by the ongoing human-driven drying of that region”
The Guardian, 2015
Climate change is the greatest humanitarian challenge of our time
“Climate change is already seriously affecting hundreds of millions of people today and in the next 20 years those affected will likely more than double, making it the greatest emerging humanitarian challenge of our time”
Time Magazine, 2009
Climate change creates climate refugees
“ The gravest effects of climate change may be those on human migration, as millions will be displaced”
United Nations Refugee Agency, 2009
Natural disasters accelerating
“Natural disasters are occurring nearly five times as often as they were in the 1970’s”
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2014
NUMBER OF REPORTED DISASTERS BY DECADE, BY HAZARD TYPE (1971-2010)
22 Million displaced by natural disasters in 2013
“In 2013, 22 million people were displaced by disasters brought on by natural hazard events”
United Nations, Refugee Agency, 2014
36 Million displaced by natural disasters in 2008
“36 million people were displaced by natural disasters in 2008, of whom more than 20 million were forced on the move by climate change-related factors”
United Nations Refugee Agency, 2009
146 Million displaced by natural disasters between 2000 and 2005
“In the recent past, the number of persons affected by drought has been comparable to that of victims of hurricanes and floods, 146 million, on average, between 2000 and 2005”
United Nations Refugee Agency, 2008
Climate change kills 300k people and costs $125 billion annually
“The growing economic and humanitarian costs of climate change [are] attributable for the deaths of over 300,000 people and economic losses of $125 billion annually, an estimated 500 – 600 million people, around 10% of the planet’s human population, are at extreme risk from the adverse effects of climate change”
Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment, 2015
Syrian civil war caused by climate change
“A severe drought in the fertile crescent in Syria, Iraq, and Turkey killed livestock, drove up food prices, sickened children, and forced 1.5 million rural residents to the outskirts of Syria’s jam-packed cities, helping trigger a civil war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people”
National Geographic, 2015
4,087,139 Syrian refugees
“The total number of Syrian refugees currently stands at 4,087,139” (September 2015)”
United Nations, Refugee Agency, 2015
Livestock creates 51% of greenhouse gas emissions
“The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, estimates that 18% of annual worldwide GHG emissions are attributable to cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, camels, pigs, and poultry. But recent analysis… finds that livestock and their by-products actually account for at least 32.6 billion tons of CO2 per year, or 51% of annual worldwide GHG emissions”
Worldwatch Institute, 2009
Livestock releases 65% of all nitrous oxide emissions
“Livestock is responsible for 65% of all emissions of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 296x more destructive than carbon dioxide and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years”
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, 2006
Livestock releases 37% of all methane and 64% of ammonia
“[Livestock] accounts for respectively 37% of all human-induced methane (23 times as warming as CO2), which is largely produced by the digestive system of ruminants, and 64% of ammonia, which contributes significantly to acid rain”
United Nations, 2006
10 Countries release 51% of agricultural ghg emissions
“The 10 countries with the largest agricultural emissions in 2011 were (in descending order): China, Brazil, United States, India, Indonesia, Russian Federation, Democratic Republic of Congo, Argentina, Myanmar, and Pakistan. Together, these countries contributed 51% of global agricultural emissions”
World Resources Institute, 2014
Climate change first affects the world’s poorest
“The first hit and worst affected by climate change are the world’s poorest groups. 99% of all casualties occur in developing countries. A stark contrast to the 1% of global emissions attributable to some 50 of the least developed nations”
Time Magazine, 2009
Six countries release 60% of CO2
“Six countries (China, United States, India, Russia, Japan, and Germany) are responsible for 60% of CO2 emissions”
Business Insider, 2014
Developed nations have a responsibility for the victims of global warming
“By a large measure, the wealthy industrialized countries have caused most past and present greenhouse gas emissions, and it is thus these countries that have the greatest moral, if not legal, responsibility for the victims of global warming”
Environment Magazine, 2008
ENVIRONMENTAL REFUGEES ARE NOT PROTECTED BY LAW
“Environmental refugees are not protected by international laws. They face greater political risks than refugees who flee their homes due to conflict or political oppression. Unlike traditional refugees, climate refugees may be sent back to their devastated homeland or forced into a refugee camp”
National Geographic, 2015
UK takes just 166 syrian refugees
“Between June 2014 and June 2015, the UK took 166 Syrian refugees”
The Guardian, 2015
US accepts 2k refugees since 2012
“Since 2012, the US has accepted 2,174 Syrian refugees – roughly 0.0007% of America’s total population”
The Guardian, 2015
Sweden takes 100,000 syrian refugees
“In recent years, Sweden has taken in more asylum seekers per capita than any other country in Europe… Sweden has taken 100,000 Syrian refugees, which is 1% of the population”
Washington Post, 2015
Germany takes 800,000 syrian refugees
“800,000 asylum seekers and refugees are expected to arrive in Germany this year”
The Guardian, 2015
All life on Earth is threatened
2015
Climate refugees,
this is the beginning
“If We Don’t Stop Climate Change…What We See Right Now Is Just the Beginning… The surge of people fleeing to Europe from the Middle East highlights how quickly mass migrations can occur. It may also offer a glimpse of what’s to come as climate change makes some regions around the world unliveable”
Frank Biermann, Professor of Political Science and Environmental
Policy Sciences at VU University Amsterdam, Inside Climate News, 2015
2020
By 2020 african water shortages will affect 250 million people
“Increased water shortages in Africa will affect between 74 million and 250 million people by 2020″
United Nations Refugee Agency, 2008
2020
135 Million climate refugees by 2020
“By 2020 an estimated 60 million people could move from desertified areas of sub-Saharan Africa towards North Africa and Europe, and worldwide, 135 million people could be placed at risk of being uprooted by desertification”
United Nations, 2006
2020
Climate change will uproot millions
“Climate change will fundamentally affect the lives of millions of people who will be forced over the next decades to leave their villages and cities to seek refuge in other areas”
Institute for Environmental Studies, VU University Amsterdam, 2012
2030
By 2030 the risk of civil war in africa will increase by 50%
“Climate change could increase the risk of civil war in Africa by more than 50% in the year 2030 compared to 1990”
United Nations Refugee Agency, 2009
2050
150 Million climate refugees by 2050
“Global warming could create 150 million climate refugees by 2050”
Institute for Environmental Management and Assessment, 2015
2050
Freshwater availability could affect a billion people by 2050
“Freshwater availability in Central, South, East and Southeast Asia particularly in large river basins is projected to decrease due to climate change which, along with population growth and increasing demand arising from higher standards of living, could adversely affect more than a billion people by the 2050’s”
United Nations Refugee Agency, 2008
2050
Flooded land in bangladesh will create 20 million climate refugees by 2050
“Bangladesh will lose 17% of its land by 2050 due to flooding caused by climate change. The loss of land could lead to as many as 20 million climate refugees from Bangladesh”
National Geographic, 2015
Halve ghg emissions with plant based diet
“Meat-free diet can reduce greenhouse gas emissions by half”
Oxford University, Oxford Martin School, 2014
Plant based diet to reduce GHG emissions
“Changes in diet and reductions of losses in the food supply chain, have a significant… potential to reduce GHG emissions from food production”
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2014
Increase the planets chance of survival, go vegetarian
“Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet” – Albert Einstein
The Guardian, 2014
“Earth was created for all of us, not some of us”
Anthony D Williams
