Canada must prepare for “climate migrants”: report

VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) – Climate change and extreme weather events around the world could have an unlooked-for effect right here in BC, and some argue we are simply not prepared for it.

Millions of people around the world are being displaced from their homes because of climate change, and a paper released this week by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives suggests the federal and provincial governments should be preparing for an influx of “climate migrants.”

Co-author Tim Takaro, a professor in the SFU Faculty of Health Sciences, says Canada has a moral obligation to welcome them.

“Climate migration is something we’ve been seeing for years: People forced to move because of extreme weather events ranging from forest fires to floods to droughts and even extreme air pollution events. With climate change, these extreme events are increasing in frequency and intensity and more people are on the move,” he tells News1130.

Estimates vary widely, but Takaro says a 2011 report from the UK government found 17 million people were displaced in 2009 and 42 million in 2010.

“The estimates of how many could be displaced [in the future] also vary, but go up as high as 250 to 300 million. I think we need to start talking about it. Thousands of people are on the move … many of them have few means to adapt to climate-induced disasters,” he says.

Takaro argues that climate change is due largely to fossil-fueled energy consumption by rich countries like Canada, while the impact is largely felt in poor countries like Bangladesh.

“We have a profound injustice on our hands and Canadians need to address this. We think it’s our moral responsibility to help these people, just as it’s our moral responsibility to follow the United Nations’ and global scientific advice to stop building large, multi-decade infrastructure that enables more destruction of the planet. It’s not just charity, it’s a question of justice and reparation.”

Takaro suggests there may be a legal obligation as well, as Canada signed signed an agreement to deal with the issue at the Copenhagen UN framework convention on climate change in 2013.

The report recommends Ottawa start preparing to absorb its fair share of those migrants, including the creation of a new immigration class of “climate migrants” along with targets and support programs.

“Currently, the services and organizations that help to settle immigrants are already under stress from inadequate funding-they are barely been getting by. Yet, the demands on them will only grow,” says Takaro.

The report also recommends that Canada increase its support to developing countries currently shouldering the burden of climate displacement.