{"id":3190,"date":"2020-02-20T22:28:47","date_gmt":"2020-02-20T22:28:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/?p=3190"},"modified":"2020-02-20T22:29:15","modified_gmt":"2020-02-20T22:29:15","slug":"migration-and-the-climate-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/?p=3190","title":{"rendered":"Migration and the climate crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While climate-induced displacement is\nno new phenomenon, we are currently witnessing the critical role it plays in migration.\nThousands of homes in Australia have been ravaged by bushfires, with residents\nforced to evacuate as a result.<\/a> Unprecedented temperature highs have\nled to an overwhelming\nincrease in heatwaves and droughts<\/a>, preceding the tragedy we see today. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The blazes in Southern New South Wales and Eastern Victoria are\nestimated to have destroyed over 2,000 homes thus far and have led to the deaths\nof around 1 billion animals. The responses and relentless efforts of citizens around\nthe world – particularly those who are tackling Australia\u2019s bushfires first-hand\n– demonstrate the most commendable and truly inspiring depths of humanity. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yet, the crisis we see unfolding before us also requires us to\nface the most unbearable and hard-to-swallow truths. It demands that we\nrecognise the damage humankind has inflicted upon the planet through our\neconomic system; one which glorifies perpetual growth and excessive consumption\nat the detriment of the majority. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Writing for The\nGuardian<\/a>, Lorena Allam described her anguish over the crisis in Australia\nas First Nations people are, once again, forcibly displaced: \u201cOur ancestors\nfelt it, our elders felt it, and now we are feeling it all over again as we\nwatch how the mistreatment and neglect of our land and waters for generations,\nand the pig-headed foolishness of coal-obsessed climate change denialists turn\neverything and everyone to ash.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The experiences of Indigenous Australians and how they are\ndisproportionately impacted by climate change is largely omitted from the\nmainstream narrative on Australia\u2019s bushfires. For both indigenous communities\nand those in developing nations, the exploitation of natural resources by those\nin positions of power has wreaked havoc on their land. Those in\nrural areas often bear the brunt of droughts and weather-related disasters<\/a>, causing\nboth internal and cross-border migration. As a result, the poorest and most\nmarginalised communities suffer the most. Climate Migration reported that 70 per\ncent of all disaster displacement occurs in the poorest places<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Allam\u2019s frustrations are justifiably directed towards those with\nthe power to enact change – in this case, the Australian prime minister Scott\nMorrison. Morrison continues \u2013 despite the overwhelming evidence before him \u2013\nto downplay the role of global heating in the current bushfire crisis. He is an\nardent and vocal defender of the coal industry which is perhaps unsurprising when\nconsidering Australia\u2019s status as the world\u2019s largest coal exporter, with coal\nits most\nvaluable export<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Indigenous Australians know more than most the\nconsequences of extensive fossil fuel use<\/a>. They continue to suffer a\nparticularly devastating loss. As they have battled endlessly against settler-colonialism,\nthe burning of their land and drying of their rivers engender a unique poignancy.\nPrior to colonisation, Indigenous Australians had managed their land\neffectively through traditional\nburning methods<\/a> for thousands of years. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The incessant profit-seeking of the fossil fuel industry \u2013 which makes up\n89 per cent of the world\u2019s carbon emissions<\/a> and is a major factor in global\nheating \u2013 will continue to generate mass migration across the globe. Those left\nwith no choice but to evacuate their homes due to Australia\u2019s bushfires have\nbeen labelled \u2018climate refugees.\u2019 The irony is, while the Australian navy helps\nto evacuate residents, its government regularly detains and turns away those\nwho have suffered their own forms of involuntary displacement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Australian government treats those who seek refuge<\/a> with the\nutmost contempt \u2013 including those who have undergone the same pain of displacement\ndue to climate change. Human rights bodies have repeatedly criticised<\/a> the\ngovernment for its maltreatment of asylum seekers. Billions are\nspent<\/a> on holding these vulnerable individuals in off-shore detention. In\nstark contrast, when Australia faces a crisis, it welcomes the aid of other\ncountries, with US and Canadian firefighters immediately flocking to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The disparity in treatment of displaced people is not only morally\ndevoid but unjust when looking at who is responsible<\/a> for the\nacceleration of global heating that will continue to cause mass migration. The Global\nNorth has a habit of creating\nproblems it refuses to deal with<\/a>. The Bahamas, which was struck by\nHurricane Dorian last year, contributes just 0.01 per cent in global carbon\nemissions. Bahamian refugees were offered little in\nthe way of support from the US government. <\/a> <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those who suffer the most by climate change have not reaped the\nbenefits of post-industrial consumerism. It is an indictment of our economic\nsystem and how it necessitates global inequality. On 20 January, the UN\u2019s Human\nRights Committee ruled it unlawful<\/a> to deport a\nperson to a country where their lives would be at risk as a result of the\nclimate crisis. Whether this will translate to robust protections for climate\nrefugees is, regrettably, unclear considering the frequency with which nations fail\nto meet pre-existing international\nobligations<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One thing rooted in certainty, however, is the continued\nescalation of displaced people as a direct result of global heating. National\nleaders must step up to the mark, taking both action and, perhaps most\nimportantly, responsibility. <\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

While climate-induced displacement is no new phenomenon, we are currently witnessing the critical role it plays in migration. Thousands of homes in Australia have been ravaged by bushfires, with residents forced to evacuate as a result. Unprecedented temperature highs have led to an overwhelming increase in heatwaves and droughts, preceding the tragedy we see today. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":200,"featured_media":3191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[1395,1407,1391],"tags":[1611],"coauthors":[2509],"class_list":["post-3190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-comment","category-environment","category-international-politics","tag-climate-change"],"amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Migration-and-the-climate-crisis-issy-bailey-tEIHSmfwznM-unsplash-scaled.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/200"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3190"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/politicalquarterlyblog.preliveweb.site\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcoauthors&post=3190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}