By: Kabitanjali Amatya and Katrina Schmidt Climate change is a glaring reality of which the consequences are becoming increasingly prevalent around the world. It is estimated that nearly 200 million people will be displaced from their homes by the end of the century due to rising ocean levels, drought and natural disasters (Geisler, 2017). In a study done by Columbia University, researchers found that the number of asylum seeker applications to the European Union is estimated to increase by 28% by the end of this century. Other research has shown that the increase in applications for asylum correlates directly to agricultural shocks resulting from climate change (Missirian and Schlenker, 2017). The unsustainable population growth in addition to the loss of land and resources will result in more poverty and conflict in the years to come. Islands like Kiribati and Tuvalu are predicted to disappear entirely due to rising sea levels by the end of the century. “The future rise in global mean sea level probably won’t be gradual. Yet few policy makers are taking stock of the significant barriers to entry that coastal climate refugees, like other refugees, will encounter when they migrate to higher ground,” said Charles Geisler, Professor of Development Sociology at Cornell. These displaced people are not officially recognized as refugees and do not have any access to governmental support during their struggles, because the legal definition of refugees does not include those displaced by environmental factors. However, the number of these displaced people continues to rise at an alarming rate. Islands like Kiribati and Tuvalu are predicted to disappear entirely due to rising sea levels by the end of the century. Coastal nations such as Fiji and Bangladesh are already suffering the consequences of climate change. While the United States and many other western nations have not sufficiently addressed these issues, countries like Fiji which are witnessing the most drastic consequences firsthand, have invested substantial resources into preparing for the coming crises. In addition to coastal nations being threatened, parts of the Middle East and Africa are facing devastating droughts which have resulted in a shortage of food, water and other resources. These droughts have compounded conflicts in these regions and, according to climatologists, were a significant factor in the build up to the Syrian Civil War. In Nigeria alone, approximately ten million people have been displaced due to droughts and loss of resources. This documented change in climate can in large part be attributed to the negligence of Western nations and their failure in taking needed measures to mitigate the negative impacts of climate change. Despite being largely responsible for climate change, some Western nations - particularly the United States - has done little to curb its emissions and to assist climate refugees. Climate change is a reality that we have caused and exasperated, and therefore it is our responsibility to work together for the betterment of the planet and to support those who are fighting to survive the disasters related to climate change.
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