Citizens' Climate Lobby: Migration is in our DNA
Immigration solutions continue to elude us worldwide. Due to war, famine and climate change, refugees are on the move. Global population growth only compounds the problem.
The United Nations projects that global population will peak in the 2060s; other experts think possibly even 2050. Global population now stands at 8 billion. An additional 1.7 billion are anticipated before population growth plateaus and then begins a downward trend.
Because of runaway climate change, more than a billion people will be on the move by 2050. Are you starting to get the picture? A perfect storm of climate migration and population growth is on the near horizon?
Author Debra Reinstra asks if, at this inflection point, we can find the balance between doomism and hopeism. The glass half-full approach offers hope, but we must face the facts. Sixty percent of the world’s population lives in coastal cities which are experiencing sea level rise. Jakarta, Indonesia, a city of 11 million people, is sinking at the alarming rate of 25 cm a year. Increased humidity and temperature, just slightly higher than today, will make equatorial latitudes intolerable.
Migration will be driven by water and heat issues. The percentage of the planet affected by drought has doubled in the last 40 years according to science writer Gaia Vince. Aquifers are running dry. Historic species extinction and crop failures are reshaping our world. No wonder Al Gore laments in his book Truth to Power that “every night, the TV news is like a nature hike through the book of Revelation.”
India is set to surpass China as the world’s most populated country. China’s population is expected to start shrinking in 2023 while India will top out at 1.7 billion in the early 2060s. Nigeria is expected to surpass the U.S. population in 2050 to become the world’s third-largest country.
Africa’s population is expected to almost double at over 2 billion. Worldwide, some 850 million people go hungry. Demographics matter. Ethically and morally, we must make it easier for people to both move around our shared planet and address climate change.
We should not let the chasm between the haves and the have-nots deepen. By 2050, we need to have figured out a plan as a society to manage this challenge — to the benefit of everyone.
Migrants typically are individuals of courage, resilience and determination who have overcome considerable hardship when leaving familiar people, homeland and language. Since our earliest ancestors began the trek out of Africa, migration has made us who we are. Migration is in our DNA. As heat, fires, floods, sea level rise and extreme weather become our new normal, we must welcome those who are displaced.
Unlivable climate change is being felt first in the tropical regions and people are fleeing northward. The global north (us!) has the opposite problem. Our demographic profile is top-heavy with older persons.
Our workforce will eventually be too small to support a large elderly population. At risk funding of Social Security and Medicare is a hot topic lately.
So, let’s turn our lemons into lemonade and create new infrastructure and support systems to welcome refugees. The refugee pipeline will be supporting the baby boomers as they live into their 90s and beyond. Why should the golden spoon entitlement only be extended to those born in North America and Europe?
Changing climate and the resulting migration will affect you and your children. Solving both problems together is the answer. Urgent decarbonization of our economies through incentives and taxation will stimulate growth and reduce poverty.
The Holland Sentinel reported on March 3 that global carbon dioxide release reached a record high in 2022. Now is the time to tell your legislators that swift climate action coupled with immigration reform must be a top priority. The two go hand in hand.
I believe West Michigan is capable of experiencing gratitude at the chance to connect with other cultures. It’s time to open your hearts and minds and put out the welcome mat to the climate refugees who are certainly coming soon to a town near you.
— Laura Judge is a member of the Holland Area Citizens’ Climate Lobby. She resides in Laketown Township.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Citizens' Climate Lobby: Migration is in our DNA
