President Joe Biden’s administration released a report this month that claims climate change is causing the mass migration of people being forced from their homes and communities.
Activists are already responding to the report by calling on the United States to issue “humanitarian visas” to allow these migrants to have refugee status to “temporarily” reside in the country.
The “Report on the Impact of Climate Change on Migration,” says, in part: Extreme weather events and conflict are the top two drivers of forced displacement globally, together responsible for the annual movement of nearly 30 million people from their homes. There is a strong correlation between countries and regions most vulnerable to climate change and those that are fragile and/or experiencing conflict or violence.
Climate-related impacts may further stress vulnerable communities, increasing the risk of conflict and displacement in the absence of effective prevention efforts, and vice versa. Climate-related impacts also pose an increased risk to marginalized communities displaced by conflict related to the impacts of climate change. This risk is more acute in regions with weak governance and dispute resolution infrastructure, and in growing peri-urban areas where many migrants are heading.
