News June 2021 | Earth Refuge

June 30, 2021August 4, 2021

EPA Updates Climate Change Data for the First Time Since 2016

30 June 2021 – by Evelyn Workman

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has updated climate change data on its website for the first time in 5 years. The data is presented on the Climate Change Indicators website, the website allows the public to explore data generated primarily by federal agencies on climate change and its impact on people throughout the U.S. The first Climate Change Indicators report was published by the EPA in 2010, and the data was regularly updated on its website until the Trump administration in 2016. During his presidency, Donald Trump was openly sceptical of human-caused climate change, at times calling it a “hoax”.

The recent data presented in the Climate Change Indicators report illustrates the alarming reality of the impact of climate change across the U.S. Surface temperatures across the U.S. are rising, and that increase is accelerating. This temperature increase is the most pronounced in Alaska, which saw an average temperature rise of more than 2°C in parts, since 1925. Rising temperatures are also worsening wildfires, according to the new data. Wildfire season is starting earlier, lasting longer, and the amount of land burned each year by wildfires is increasing. Heatwaves have also become more common due to increasing surface temperatures, with occurrences tripling in U.S. cities since the 1960s. Drought is growing in the Southwest, which in turn threatens the availability of drinking water.

Coastal flooding is five times more common in cities across the U.S. today compared to in the 1950s. A combination of melting of polar ice and rising water temperatures are the cause of the flooding, with sea level rising being particularly prominent along the East Coast and Gulf Coast. The new data also shows that incidents of lyme disease have doubled since 1991, as a warming climate across the U.S. is leading to deer ticks being able to survive in an increasing number of areas.

With this data update announcement, EPA administrator Michael Regan has made it clear that climate change is once again a top priority for the EPA. “There is no small town, big city or rural community that is unaffected by the climate crisis,” Regan said, “Americans are seeing and feeling the impacts up close, with increasing regularity.”

June 28, 2021August 4, 2021

Policy and Legal Advice on Climate Refugees From the Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers

landscape photography of snowy mountains

28 June 2021 – by Hazal Yilmaz

The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers (CARL) is preparing a report parallel to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees Canada’s invitation for the federal government to examine its own laws with relation to climate change and migration. In their view, Canada is not paying due attention to the impending crisis.

In a podcast, which discussed the report, different solutions were explored. For example, it was argued that climate refugees are in fact no different from those who can get refugee status by escaping from persecution based on race, religion and political opinion; and that on this ground, no disparate treatment is necessary. Or another point was raised, that climate migrants could fall under the existing category of those applying for residency in a foreign country, after a natural disaster made their previous residence uninhabitable. It was also stated in the report that Canada’s sponsorship program for Syrian refugees could be utilized and adapted to leave room for those fleeing climate change.

The authors of the report hope that the proposed reinterpretation of exisiting regulations will be met with support from the Canadian public.

June 23, 2021August 4, 2021

NGOs File Third Party Interventions to ECHR in Support of Duarte Agostinho’s Climate Case

23 June 2021 – by Ben St. Laurent

A landmark case brought by six young Portuguese citizens in November 2020 against 33 signatory states to the 2015 Paris Agreement continues to gain momentum at the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). In early May, the European Commissioner for Human Rights and a number of NGOs filed third party interventions to the Court in support of the applicants’ claim. Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and Others centers on the alleged violation of the applicants’ right to life (article 2) and right to respect for private and family life (article 8) as well as the prohibition of discrimination (article 14) due to the disproportional effects of climate change on younger generations. Due to the urgency of addressing climate change, the applicants won a legal battle confirming the court’s decision to fast-track the case.

The ECHR has constructed a notable body of case law which acknowledges the direct impact of certain environmental issues on human rights, and requires states to mitigate resulting violations of these rights. The ‘environmental admissibility criteria’ for the ECHR, established in Fadeyeva v Russia (2005), stipulates that interference on an applicant’s private life must be concrete and severe, a requirement which the applicants have already satisfied.

There is scientific and governmental consensus that climate change impacts human life, but a state’s legal obligation to mitigate the risk has yet to be established by the Court. By demonstrating causation between the defendant states’ greenhouse gas emissions and global warming induced heatwaves, the Duarte Agostinho case could set a new precedent for a state’s legal obligations to mitigate the effects of climate change. The third party interventions provide the Court with evidence linking national inaction on climate change to ensuing negative impacts on the applicant’s health and human rights.

The group of NGOs that recently filed supportive third party interventions includes Amnesty International, Climate Action Network (CAN) Europe, Germanwatch, Notre Affaire à Tous, and 2Celsius. These organisations have provided evidence supporting the claim that current national contributions will not reduce emissions to a level that will prevent global temperatures from rising above 2°C, in accordance with commitments of the Paris Agreement. According to Wendel Trio, Director of CAN Europe, “Current efforts by our governments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are highly insufficient as the world is still heading for a temperature rise around 2.5°C, alarmingly above the objectives of the Paris Agreement.” The court should appreciate the expert knowledge on this subject as it waits for government defenses which are due by May 27th.

June 21, 2021August 4, 2021

Ethiopian Refugees Face Double Displacement As Floods Wreck Havoc Across Eastern Sudan

21 June 2021 – by Atoosa Gitiforoz

Refugee shelters are being destroyed as rains begin in Sudan. Thousands of Ethiopians fleeing violence in Tigray over the past few months have found themselves facing extreme weather conditions, from scorching heat to long rains.

Climate change is responsible for the unpredictable rainfall and high temperatures across Sudan’s arid and semi-arid areas. Sudan’s already vulnerable position has made combating climate change in the country difficult; conflict, poverty and displacement limit potential investment into climate mitigation or adaptation efforts.

Heavy rains and flooding is not new to Sudan’s refugee population; last year hundreds of thousands of people were affected, which included refugees and internally displaced people.

The Sudanese government, the World Food Programme (WFP) and UN organisations (United Nations Development Programme), have made efforts to address the energy needs of refugees by creating sustainable conditions. For example, energy saving stoves and solar panels have been implemented to improve conditions for refugees. Plant drought-resistant plants are also providing food and greenery.

Despite such adaptation efforts, Sudan’s vulnerable position makes climate mitigation difficult. Preventative measures to protect refugees from further displacement and suffering are necessary to shield refugees from future floods and other climate disasters. Climate mitigation may only be possible in Sudan if vulnerability factors such as conflict and poverty are addressed, too.

June 21, 2021August 4, 2021

Unemployment, Migration and Climate Change in Morocco

21 June 2021 – by Atoosa Gitiforoz

On Tuesday 18^th May, 2021, 6,000 migrants from Morocco swam and walked across the border to Spain. Video evidence showed Moroccan soldiers allowing migrants through security gates, sparking tensions between the two countries. The European Union stands in defence of Spain, condemning the mass incursion as a breach of borders. This comes following policy disputes over Western Sahara, which Spain maintains must be resolved via a United Nations agreement.

Migrants fled Morocco seeking economic opportunity, in pursuit of education or to flee poverty and human rights abuses. Unemployment in Morocco has been rising in recent years, with a significant rise of 2% as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Urban areas have been hit harder by unemployment compared to rural areas, although sectors across both have been affected. Whilst socio-economic crises and the pandemic are major causes of unemployment in Morocco, growing rural-urban migration – largely due to climate change, is also a factor.

Rising temperatures makes agricultural productivity more difficult. The High Commission for Planning (HCP) predicts that by 2050 only 15% of Morocco’s population will live in non-urban areas; this compares to 40% in 2018. With rural populations shrinking, (both water scarcity and floods causing a decline in agricultural production and an increase in poverty) a growing urban population needs employment.

Unemployment is particularly high amongst the youth in Morocco (1,500 of the 6000 migrants last Tuesday were teenagers). Green job initiatives is one channel to reduce unemployment whilst implementing climate adaptation measures; Morocco’s recent shifts to renewable energy is to help boost labour employment according to the Forum Euro Mediterraneen des Instituts de Sciences Economiques.

Morocco has taken numerous commitments to combat climate change via adaptation initiatives such as the Green Generation 2020-2030 plan – to support the agricultural sector through water irrigation and reducing dependence on rain-fed farming. Water irrigation projects are expected to save 2.4bn metres of water by 2030. On-going protection of rural areas is vital for agricultural livelihoods that make up 34% of employment. The links between climate change, rural-urban domestic migration, unemployment and cross-border migration requires further investigation; such as the percentage of rural verses urban migrants leaving their home country, Morocco.

June 7, 2021August 4, 2021

Climate Activists March 400 Miles From New Orleans to Houston to Demand a Green Job Market

7 June 2021 – by Evelyn Workman

Climate activists from the youth climate group Sunrise Movement have been marching 400 miles from New Orleans to Houston, following the path of thousands of families who permanently fled New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. The activists’ aim is to pressure President Biden into including a Civilian Climate Corps in his $2.26 trillion infrastructure plan, which will create good-paying jobs for young people within environmentally friendly careers.

Along the way the group is making stops in communities disproportionately affected by the climate crisis. At these stops the group will be holding protests and rallies, and will be joined by many figures including political leaders and environmental justice activists. One of these stops was St James parish, a community about an hour outside of New Orleans, where the group protested the proposed construction of a petrochemical complex. St James parish sits on an 85-mile industrial corridor along the Mississippi River, which has been dubbed “Cancer Valley” due to housing more than 150 chemical plants and oil refineries. Last year, the government approved permits for plastic company Formosa Plastics to build 14 plastic plants in St James parish.

Environmental justice group, Rise St James, has been leading the fight to block Formosa from building the facility in their community. The Sunrise Movement organised the protest along with Rise St James, to bring greater awareness to the issue. Researchers have found that if the proposed Formosa complex is built it would leave communities vulnerable to extreme flooding, due to the destruction of nearby wetlands. The facility is also expected to emit and discharge a variety of pollutants, including carcinogens, into the air and water. St James parish is a predominantly black community, and Varshini Prakash, the co-founder and executive director of Sunrise Movement, has described the situation as “the epitome of environmental racism”.

June 3, 2021August 4, 2021

Border Tensions in South-Eastern Europe Will Be Intensified by Climate Change

3 June 2021 – by Evelyn Workman

A recent report “Regional Assessment for South-Eastern Europe: Security implications of climate change” calls climate change a “risk multiplier” in South-Eastern Europe. This region, having been afflicted with wars throughout the 1990s, is already prone to border tensions and this new report anticipates that climate change will only amplify these existing tensions. In addition, South-Eastern Europe has been identified as one of the world’s “warming hot spots”. In a business as usual scenario, temperatures could rise by 4°C by 2100, and the number of drought days is forecasted to increase by 20% across the region.

Potential negative consequences of climate change to this region are highlighted by the report. Climate change can change the access to or availability of natural resources, resulting in increased competition both within and across borders. Climate-induced extreme weather events and disasters can aggravate political instability and put livelihoods at risk, which could lead to people being pushed to emigrate from the region or to turn to illegal sources of income.

The report highlighted that two of the region’s main sectors, agriculture and tourism, are “very climate-sensitive and are expected to be negatively affected by climate change, leading to a potential loss of livelihoods and jobs.” The report goes on to predict that “this could contribute to political discontent and pose challenges for political stability. In addition, negative climate change impacts could put pressure on vulnerable groups to migrate or to take up adverse livelihood strategies, including crime.”

Two of the main aims of this report were to identify potential climate-security hotspots in the South-Eastern Europe region, and develop and implement climate change and security risk reduction measures. The report identified a large number of potential transboundary hotspots that are of concern, including shared river basins, shared mountain ecosystems and mining areas. The report also identified two security challenges that are transboundary, but not geographically constrained, and will likely be exacerbated by climate change: mixed movements and emigration, and air pollution. A range of cooperation opportunities for each hotspot was established in the report, including advancing transboundary cooperation around nature protecting or mining hazards, and developing action plans for transboundary water management.

June 2, 2021August 4, 2021

An Expert Panel in Germany Explores the Idea of Climate Passports

2 June 2021 – by Hazal Yilmaz

Recently, a German expert panel discussed the importance of fighting climate change in order to prevent a refugee crisis in Europe. It further stated that Germany should provide support to developing countries which are prone to environmental disasters, as a way of reducing the potential risk of forced migration in the future. Another solution the panel entertained was the concept of “climate passports”, which would ultimately allow refugees from disaster-struck areas to resettle in other countries. The climate passport proposed in the report is predicted to be primarily a legal form of protection for people living in island regions adversely affected by rising sea levels, and may protect 2.2 million people in the Indian and Pacific Ocean.

The report further called on Canada and the U.S. to share the burden on immigration, arguing that wealthy countries should commit to receiving a number of refugees which would make up 0.05% of their population. The Minister of the Interior of Germany also urged that we must all work together in tackling the impending crisis. The final report is planned for publication after the pandemic.