Climate refugees: a 21st century crisis

The world has warmed up by around 1.2°C since the 19th century. This has had a catastrophic effect on civilization: global sea levels reaching a record high; Greenland’s enormous ice sheet melting faster than ever; floods deluging parts of Europe and China; and wildfires raging through forests and homes worldwide (see the World Meteorological Organization’s report State of Climate in 2021).

Novels like John Lanchester’s The Wall paint a dystopian picture of millions of people across the globe being displaced by climate change and seeking shelter. Britain’s response is to create a wall of its coastline to bar entry, in keeping with its post-Brexit anti-refugee attitude. Tales like his are no longer harbingers of a future dystopian crisis. The crisis is here now. Numbers affected are growing fast. By 2030, climate change could force 216 million people to migrate as hotspots of internal climate migration start to emerge (see the World