Meteorologists and wildfire experts have reported early indicators of another unprecedented season of wildfires in the western United States. Continuous monitoring from NOAA’s National Integrated Drought Information System (NIDIS) shows that nearly half of the U.S. is experiencing drought and the most extreme conditions are concentrated in the Southwest and Pacific. According to National Weather Service data, drought is expected to persist and expand over the region, while temperatures remain above average this summer. AccuWeather wildfire forecasts classify parts of 18 states at high risk of wildfires, nine of which are currently at an extreme risk. Data from the National Interagency Fire Center (NIFC) determined that wildfires have already swept through over a quarter million acres by early May 2021 – double what they had by this time last year.
What this means for local residents and businesses, still reeling from the effects of the pandemic, is alarming. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), up to 280,000 residents of the western U.S. had been displaced in the first two weeks of September 2020. Yearly evacuation and displacement will likely contribute to domestic climate migration out of the western U.S. The Insurance Information Institute reported that the wildfires in 2020 burned 10 million acres, destroyed 10,500 structures, and incurred billions of dollars in damages. As western states prepare for another year of extreme wildfires, NPR describes how businesses are still rebuilding from last year’s fires – and also the remaining fire damage from years ago. Jeff Smith, owner and founder of Napa Valley’s fire-damaged Hourglass Winery, spoke to NPR about preventative measures residents have begun to take, including using fire resistant building materials and creating defensible space on private property.
In a press conference in early April, Governor Gavin Newsom, California Natural Resources Secretary Wade Crowfoot, and Cal Fire Director Thom Porter addressed the need to plan ahead for the 2021 fire season. Crowfoot underscored the reality that “we are not going to respond our way out of this crisis”, citing increasing temperatures and decreasing precipitation resulting from climate change. The recent increase in the length and severity of wildfires across the American West is a testament to the destruction of climate change and the immediate impact it has on the lives of residents. Towards the effort to invest in proactive wildfire protection, Governor Newsom announced the allocation of $536 million in fire prevention funding, which follows the $80.74 million in emergency funds designated in March to add 1,399 firefighters to the Cal Fire crew this year.
In this interview, Dr Anna Oltman, researcher and lecturer at University College London, talks about human rights and the politics of refugees and asylum with Nikoleta Vasileva. She explains the key terms relating to migration and some common misconceptions in the Global North and society as a whole. She sheds light on the policy of deterrence that States adopt to discourage migration and how it affects refugees. Finally, Dr Oltman touches upon the role of gender and sexual orientation in asylum applications, as well as on some key takeaways from her research to benefit activists and displaced people alike.
Dr Oltman is a lecturer and researcher in international human rights with a focus on the politics of refugees and asylum. She has worked with several refugee resettlement agencies and is a committed advocate for displaced people and migrants regardless of immigration status. Currently, she teaches two modules on the politics of human rights at University College London and her research focuses on the institutional and political sources of compliance with international human rights agreements.
Take Aways
85% of refugees* worldwide are hosted in developing countries. 73% of refugees* worldwide are hosted in neighbouring countries.
*This includes refugees and Venezuelans displaced abroad
39% of refugees are hosted in only five countries:
Turkey – 3.6 million Colombia – 1.8 million Pakistan – 1.4 million Uganda – 1.4 million Germany – 1.1 million
Relative to their national populations, Lebanon hosted the largest number of refugees (1 in 7).
Only a fraction of the millions displaced found a solution during 2010-2019, “A Decade of Displacement”
40% of the forcibly displaced persons were children: An estimated 30 – 34 million of the 79.5 million forcibly displaced persons were children below 18 years of age.
Health problems from exposure to air pollution have long been reported in communities of colour across the U.S. A growing body of data is continuing to back up these reports by showing that Asian, Black and Hispanic people are exposed to higher concentrations of air pollutants on average than their white counterparts. A recent study has found that this air pollution exposure disparity faced by people of colour (POC) exists across states, in both rural and urban communities, across income levels, and is true regardless of the type of pollution.
The study, published in the journal Science Advances, focuses on ambient fine particulate air pollution (PM2.5), which is the largest environmental cause of human mortality, according to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, and is responsible for 85,000 to 200,000 excess deaths per year in the United States. PM2.5 consists of fine particles with a diameter of 2.5 microns or less. This pollution source is particularly dangerous as the particles are small enough to travel deep into the respiratory tract and reach the lungs, which can consequently lead to numerous health problems, including bronchitis, reduced lung function and increased mortality from lung cancer and heart disease.
This latest study is the first of its kind to track all pollutant source types in the 2014 EPA National Emissions Inventory (over 5000 individual pollutant types). The researchers grouped these pollutants into 14 broad types based on source. These groups included industrial, commercial cooking, and coal electric generation.
This study will enable important discussions on mitigation measures which can be taken to tackle high levels of pollution faced by communities of colour. For example, as the study has highlighted that numerous types of pollution are responsible for this disparity in pollution exposure faced by POC, mitigation efforts taken at the local level may be more effective than tackling the problem on a nationwide level, as different sources of pollution may affect different neighbourhoods across the country.
A recently published study by the Nature journal shows that limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius ‘would halve the land ice contribution to twenty-first-century sea level rise’. The world currently, is on track to warm three degrees Celsius by 2100.
This study projects that reducing greenhouse emissions in line with pledges made under the Paris Agreement would have almost halved land ice contribution to sea level in 2100. This halving is demonstrated across three ice sources:
The Antarctic Ice Sheet is the largest ice land and its melting is accelerating. Models are used to project the contribution of land ice to sea-level rise, but they cannot explore all outcomes due to uncertain projections, and use up large amounts of computational power. In the most extreme ice sheet loss scenario, Antarctic loss may be up to five times higher – increasing the median sea level to 42cm under current pledges.
Rises in sea level strongly influences the migration of people; 1 billion people may become climate refugees by 2050, largely due to melting ice caps, sea level rises, rising temperatures, drought and catastrophic effects of climate change. A recent study by Harvard University states that West Antarctic ice sheet melting may cause sea levels to rise higher than previously thought. New predictions say that in the case of complete ice sheet collapse, sea levels would rise by an additional 30% (within the next 1,000 years) than previous estimates.
Whilst estimating the number of climate migrants is difficult due to future changes in carbon emissions and coastal-adaptation choices, climate disasters currently do influence migration. Rising sea levels will inevitably lead to land becoming uninhabitable and hence increased displacement. The study published by Nature pointing to a global warming limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius having such as substantial impact on land ice contribution to sea levels, highlights how much damage and suffering can be averted through on-going efforts at mitigating climate change.
“The worst victims of environmental harm tend also to be those with the least political clout, such as members of racial and ethnic minorities, the poor, or those who are geographically isolated from the locus of political power within their country”
– Caroline Dommen
The global scale at which modern multinational corporations (MNCs) operate inevitability results in widespread environmental harm.[1] This article contends that international law must be developed to hold MNCs accountable for transboundary environmental harm as well as to offer protection to those upended by such harm.
Developing the international system
Poorly regulated and substandard MNC activities have resulted in numerous accidents such as water contamination, deforestation, soil erosion, and the exploitation of natural resources by oil, mining, and forestry companies.[2] Domestic recourse is the preferred avenue for preventing environmental abuses by MNCs.[3]This, however, is a largely ineffective as it presents an orthodox view of law wherein states are the principle actors in the global order and state sovereignty is paramount.[4] This disregards the fact that MNC operations in the host country have the potential to affect that state’s environment as well as that of other countries, as was the case in Ecuador and Peru with regards to MNC water contamination.[5] Additionally, this ignores the very real influence MNCs have on governments, especially developing states and the threat this presents to domestic enforcement.[6]For example, the Nigerian state relies on oil MNCs as its major source of revenue, granting these corporations enormous influence and control.[7]
The current international legal order is, however, not well equipped to address transboundary environmental harms.[8]One solution is the development of international jurisprudence to recognise a universal substantive environmental right, under which companies can be held accountable.[9]This long-term approach should be supplemented by short term enforcement by economic superpowers such as the United States, where many MNCs are incorporated.[10]
The dual potency of a substantive environmental right
Some scholars and legal experts find universal acceptance of substantive environmental rights at the national, regional, and international levels.[11]However, most of these instruments that address environmental protection and economic development are criticised as being non-binding, soft- law agreements, many of which are worded so broadly that they provide little or no guidance to states or MNCs.[12]The current international instruments do not sufficiently combine environmental protection and human rights or establish a substantive environmental right.
If drafted, or phrased, and implemented correctly, the two main goals of a universal substantive environmental right should be: i) to prevent environmental harm; and ii) to protect those forced to leave their home region due to sudden or long-term changes to their local environment, that is environmental migrants, post-harm.
Transboundary environmental degradation, including that perpetrated by MNCs, can impact millions at a time and the current international legal architecture does not offer any substantive protection for those displaced by this degradation.
The body of international human rights law does not effectively protect against displacement and migration which result from environmental degradation because it has not evolved to keep pace with the rapid advance of economic globalisation and the privatisation of resources.[13]The current lack of a universal provision means that at best, a substantive environmental right preventing harm and protecting migrants is to be derived from other existing rights, significantly weakening the position of those advocating for the protection of climate migrants and for the regulation of MNC activity.
It is therefore paramount that a universal substantive environmental right is developed to prevent of situations of environmental change as such as to promote reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and the prohibition of transboundary damage as well as to mitigate the consequences of such harm, including especially the equal protection of all environmental migrants.
Human Rights Pulse core team member and Earth Refuge Archivist Vaughn is passionate about sustainability and human rights, his scholarship and writing focuses on international law, climate change and transitional justice.
[3] E. Prudence Taylor ‘From environmental to ecological human right: A new dynamic in international law?’ (1990) 10 Georgetown International Environmental Law Review 309 350.
[4] A Shinsato ‘Increasing the accountability of transnational corporations for environmental harms: The petroleum industry in Nigeria’ (2005) 4 Northwestern Journal of International Human Rights 194.
[11] U.N. ECOSOC, Comm. on Human Rights, Sub-Comm. on Prevention of Discrimination and Prot. of Minorities, Review of Further Developments in Fields with which the Sub-Commission Has Been Concerned, Human Rights and the Environment: Final Report, ¶ 240, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/Sub.2/1994/9 (July 6, 1994).
[12] Joshua P. Eaton, The Nigerian Tragedy, Environmental Regulation of Transnational Corporations, and the Human Right to a Healthy Environment, 15 B.U. INT’L L.J. 261, 297 (1997).
[13] Dinah Shelton, Human Rights, Environmental Rights, and the Right to Environment, 28 STAN. J.INT’L L. 103, 123 (1991).
A new study suggests that movement, especially in low-lying coastal areas, induced by sea-levels rising may trigger a migration wave that will affect around 1.3 million Bangladeshi by 2050.
The mathematical model in the study considers the sequential impact of migration, with respect to the interaction between migrants and residents, by evaluating economic factors alongside human behaviour. The predictions revealed by the model are that primarily the southern regions of the country will be affected and as a result 64 different districts may be subject to forced displacement. According to the American Geophysical Union, there is even a possibility that migrants may also displace existing residents.
The predictions for the capital city of Dhaka in particular stipulate that the population of the city will first increase, before it will be met with a decline due to overcrowding. Furthermore, foreseeing the potential paths of migration through the model may also help in the prevention of conflicts and resource shortages through apt preparations.
The authors of the study submit that using predictive models should guide all future decisions on climate migration, whether with relation to sea level rise, or other natural disasters such as earthquakes, droughts and forest fires.
A landmark decision in the fight for the rights of Brazil’s Indigenous communities has been made by the country’s Supreme Federal Court (STF). STF judges have agreed to review a 2014 ruling which cancelled the demarcation of ancestral territory of the Guarani Kaiowá Indigenous people. The court came to this conclusion because the 2014 ruling hadn’t included input from the Indigenous community.
The Guyraroká territory, in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, was recognized as an Indigenous territory in 2004, and the demarcation process of the territory began in 2009. However, in 2014, STF judges ruled that the Guarani Kaiowá had no legal claim to the territory because they were not living there in 1988, when the Brazilian Constitution was adopted.
This latest STF ruling doesn’t overturn the 2014 ruling to cancel the demarcation of the territory, however the case does set an important precedent for other similar cases involving Indigenous land rights.
This recent ruling is important in the current political climate as it marks a push back against the devastation Indigenous communities have faced during the Bolsonaro administration. In recent years President Jair Bolsonaro’s government has pushed to open up Indigenous land to mining, ranching and logging, the biggest attack on Indigenous communities in decades. Bolsonaro has made clear his opposition for Indigenous land demarcation, therefore this STF ruling marks a setback for his administration.
Climate change is generating far-reaching effects on some of the most fragile populations and ecosystems on earth. Despite contributing the lowest carbon emissions per capita, climate-sensitive regions have been forced to bear the brunt of severe weather conditions and chronic biophysical changes in the environment.
Malawi, a landlocked country situated in Sub-Saharan Africa, remains one of the most vulnerable regions in the world affected by anthropogenic climate change. The land and the communities existing within it continue to be ravaged by extreme climate variability and environmental degradation, resulting in increased limitations in human mobility.
Throughout the past two decades, distinct inconsistencies in seasonal weather patterns have made it difficult for small-scale farmers and communities dependent on subsistence farming methods to maintain their livelihood. 1 The worsening irregularities in seasonality have exacerbated issues of food insecurity and disease, whilst intensifying the pervasive sense of poverty that plagues a majority of the nation.
The country’s socioeconomic well-being is actively tied to agricultural output, with 80% of its rapidly expanding population occupying rural land through small-scale farming. 2 A vast proportion of Malawian farmers depend on rainfed cultivation involving stable rainfall cycles to support agricultural production. This system heightens the risk of damage to annual crop yields, and limits the possibility of growth during dry seasons. Due to extreme financial affliction, the use of artificial water channeling remains particularly low, with less than 5 percent of farmers adopting irrigation methods. 3 The reliance on cyclical rainfall patterns amplifies the population’s susceptibility to the adverse effects of climate variability, such as flooding and drought.
Climate assessments reveal that seasonal dry and rainy conditions have become less predictable and more intense. During the 2016/2017 season, Malawi experienced extensive drought that led to acute crop failure and a sharp decline in agricultural production. 4 Simultaneously, crop yields had already dropped by 30 percent in the previous 2013/2014 season, adding to lingering issues of food insecurity and severe malnutrition. 5 Across the country, an estimated 6.5 million people – 39% of the population – including 3.5 million children are projected to have fallen below the annual minimum food requirements. 6 This has produced disturbing health effects on young and developing children, including issues of physical and cognitive impairment. More than 37 percent of children under the age of five (over 1 million) are stunted due to food insecure conditions. 7
Consecutive dry spells have prevailed in succeeding seasons, driving starvation rates. During the 2018/2019 season, 2.8 million people were identified as in crisis, with 450,000 people in immediate need of food. 8 The 2020 dry season brought prolonged drought to the Central and Southern regions of rural Malawi, resulting in limited crop production. The subsequent spread of the COVID-19 pandemic slowed the economy and drove steep rises in commodity prices, affecting the livelihoods of both rural and urban districts. 9 It is predicted that approximately 2.6 million people will require aid to combat food insecurity throughout the 2020/2021 season. 10
Widespread flooding in Malawi has also increased in magnitude and frequency in recent years. In 2019 alone, two major tropical cyclones decimated the country, leaving 731,879 people in immediate need, 99,728 people displaced, and 975,588 facing adverse effects. 11
Changes in rainfall characteristics have made flooding more intense and destructive, exposing some of the poorest districts in the country to environmental displacement. Communities living in Nsanje, a marginalized region deeply prone to climate fluctuations, have been heavily displaced by recent flooding. 12 Many are driven to evacuation camps after finding their homes, livestock, and community infrastructure dismantled by the floods.
These conditions disproportionately amplify the protection risks of women and children because they hold very little social autonomy or access to legal safeguarding services. An Oxfam report revealed that “women may well have little option but to resort to prostitution in order to get income to feed their children. In Bwemba, the women estimate that in between five and seven out of every 10 households the woman might resort to selling sex for food during the critical months of December to February.” 13
Environmental disaster and displacement also force women and young girls to travel further distances to retrieve water, leaving them vulnerable to rape and assault. These measures simultaneously fuel the spread of HIV and AIDs, resulting in greater poverty and weakness within the population. 14
A growing concern is that Malawi’s highly climate-sensitive economy is not equipped to adapt to the impending challenges of climate change. The compounding effects of heavy flooding in conjunction with extensive dry spells will result in increased mortality rates and environmental displacement on a national scale. In order to combat the various challenges presented by severe climate variability, it will be critical for mitigation and adaptation strategies to be implemented at a local level. Utilizing localized knowledge can help provide better insight into developing a strong adaptation framework that prioritizes the needs of those most deeply affected.
It is vital to recognize that the most destitute regions in the nation, and on earth, remain those most insidiously neglected and adversely affected by the impacts of climate change. The ongoing climate crisis in Malawi will continue to deteriorate if its effects on highly vulnerable communities are left unchecked. In developing deeper awareness of the present and forthcoming threats of climate instability, we must mobilize greater urgency to move towards a more climate-resilient future.
Rachel Aronoff recently graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a degree in English, and a specialization in Literature and the Environment. She is also certified in health and wellness coaching, personal training, and in the process of becoming a yoga instructor.
4. Climate Change Impacts in Malawi. (2020). Assessing the impacts of climate change on the agriculture sectors in Malawi, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
7. Kumchulesi, G. (2018). Persistence of Child Malnutrition in Malawi: Explanations from Demographic and Health Surveys. Journal of African Development,20(1), 69-75. Retrieved April 27, 2021.https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.5325/jafrideve.20.1.006
13. Climate change connections to HIV and AIDS. (2009). The Winds of Change: Climate change, poverty and the environment in Malawi, Oxfam International. Retrieved April 27, 2021.https://www.oxfam.org/en/research/winds-change
14. Climate change connections to HIV and AIDS. (2009).
Researchers from Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory are nearing the end of a five year community based research project designed to study the effects of climate change on sea ice and marine life in Alaska’s Kotzebue Sound. For years, members of the Ikaaġvik Sikukun research project have monitored geophysical changes in sea ice from unmanned aerial systems. In an article published by the university, lead researcher Christopher Zappa spoke with Columbia News about the findings and novel framework of the research project.
While designing the project, researchers convened an ‘Indigenous Expert Advisory Council’, and met with community leaders who have become increasingly concerned with the impacts of climate change on their communities. The team discussed with the community how changes in sea ice were shortening the traditional hunts their lifestyle depends on. According to Zappa, the community based model “grounds the work in the interests of the local stakeholders”, and will provide indiginised solutions to local climate risks.
Zappa told Columbia News that the research team used insight they gained from indigenous communities to direct their research at studying the “river and ocean interaction, and how the ice behaves” in the Kotzebue Sound. Indigenous communities contributed more than just insight, providing researchers with decades of data which they’ve kept on ice conditions in the region. Zappa hopes that the research, which will soon be fully analysed, not only helps scientists understand the impact of climate change in the region, but also offers useful insights for indigenous communities that enables them to maintain their way of life. Columbia News reports that Zappa and a number of his colleagues are interested in replicating this type of projects with other communities in the region.
The United Nations Refugee Agency has called on states to provide refuge to people displaced by climate change and to contribute to efforts at improving the resilience of at-risk states to future disasters. According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC), weather-related incidents have lead to an average of 21.5 million new displacements every year over the past decade. It is estimated that this figure could rise to 200 million by 2050.
The majority of displaced peoples as a result of climate disasters remain within their country’s borders, often in dangerous weather conditions. Only a small number seek international refuge. Over 1 billion people live in climate-related hazardous conditions where climate resilience is weak. Weather events such as storms and floods were responsible for around 95% of disaster displacements in 2019.
Factors exacerbated by climate change
Other drivers of displacement like poverty, food insecurity, conflict, and political and socio-economic factors are often exacerbated by climate change. Countries that currently face these issues are the least prepared for the impact of climate change.
Food insecurity affects 80% of displaced people worldwide. Climate change can decrease crop yields and food production by damaging land and creating dry conditions. Increased prices as a result then lead to an increase in poverty. Water scarcity as a result of climate change is also linked to increased risk of flooding in other areas of land. The ability of conflict areas to respond to climate disasters is limited due to an existing strain on government resources, leaving little room for recovery. This is why it is evermore important for conflict areas at risk of climate change to develop resilience ahead of disasters. Conflict areas are in a major position of risk to the aftermath of climate disasters due to limited safe land and a pre-existing burden on government resources, leaving little room for recovery.
Vulnerable states and regions identified by the UNHCR
The United Nations Refugee council draws attention to the vulnerability of Central America, The Sahel, Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Mozambique.
The Dry Corridor refers to the area of Central America where droughts and floods occur, creating displacement and damage to agriculture. In 2020, two hurricanes devastated the region, impacting at least 8 million people.
In the Sahel region, there are over 2 million internally displaced people (IDP) – 1 million in Burkina Faso alone – where armed groups have exploited tension in poor, drought effected areas. Likewise in Somalia, where 2.9 million are internally displaced, climate change impact has also intertwined with conflict: the militant group, Al-Shabab, has exploited economic hardships caused by drought to boost recruits.
In Yemen, the enduring conflict limits abilities to combat issues brought by climate change, and the country’s experience of flash floods and shorter seasons is contributing to existing food poverty. IDPs in Yemen are four times more likely to suffer from food insecurity.
Climate change has worsened Bangladesh’s tropical storms and floods, and the frequency and intensity of these cyclones and floods have devastated the Rohyingya refugee shelters, further displacing them.
In January 2020, as part of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) climate action agenda, a Special Advisor for Climate Action was appointed. The three main areas of focus for this agenda are: Law and Policy, Operations, and UNHCR’s environmental footprint.
‘Law and Policy’ includes providing legal advice and guidance to states regarding the protection of refugees and IDPs from climate change. Operations involve supporting countries to better prepare ahead of and respond to climate disasters. For example, fast-growing trees, alternative energy sources for cooking, and first responder training were implemented by the UNHCR and its partners to help Rohingya refugees. Its environmental footprint has been improved via initiatives such as ‘The Green Box’ initiative to install energy meters across UNHCR offices linked to a global dashboard which monitors power consumption and suggests alternative energy sources. The UNHCR’s emphasis is on providing early support and help to at-risk states – key to preventing a costly and devastating impact from climate change and reducing the number of displaced peoples
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