Climate Change May Be Accelerating Migrant Crises

Climate change is having an unforeseen consequence that may put international security at risk. Since rising sea levels have begun to swallow up low-lying countries, such as Bangladesh, the migrant crisis has magnified to unimaginable levels.

”Climate change is the greatest security threat of the 21st century,” said Major General Munir Muniruzzaman, who is chairman of the Global Military Advisory Council on climate change.

Muniruzzaman notes that another meter rise in sea level will put 20 percent of his country of Bangladesh under water, according to The Guardian.

”We’re going to see refugee problems on an unimaginable scale, potentially above 30 million people,” said Muniruzzaman.

Stephen Cheney, a member of the U.S. Department of State’s foreign affairs policy board, explains: ”Climate change could lead to a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions. We’re already seeing migration of large numbers of people around the world because of food scarcity, water insecurity, and extreme weather, and this is set to become the new normal.”

”There are direct links to climate change in the Arab Spring, the war in Syria, and the Boko Haram terrorist insurgency in sub-Saharan Africa.”

On February 28, 2013, Caitlin E. Werrell and colleagues released a study titled ”The Arab Spring and Climate Change” which diagrams how environmental stressors subsequently contributed to the series of violent uprisings in the Arab world.

”Bread provides one-third of the caloric intake in Egypt, a country where 38 percent of income is spent on food,” explains Oxford geographer Troy Sternberg.

”The doubling of global wheat prices – from $157/metric ton in June 2010 to $326/metric ton in February 2011 – thus significantly impacted the country’s food supply and availability.”

These stressors coincided with the ousting of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, several bloody conflicts, and a massive migration of North African refugees to Europe.

Fears about the climate-induced security crisis have spiked since Donald Trump became U.S. President elect, which is largely a reaction to Trump’s historically dismissive attitude towards climate change.

”As far as this issue on climate change – the only thing [Trump] was saying after being asked a few questions about it is, look, he’ll have an open mind about it but he has his default position, which most of it is a bunch of bunk, but he’ll have an open mind and listen to people,” said Reince Priebus, chair of the Republican National Committee, in a report by RT.

Sources: The Guardian, The Arab Spring and Climate Change, RT/Photo Credit: Freedom House/Flickr