The world is witnessing severe impacts of climate change on lives and livelihoods. Global damage from climate change and fossil fuel development was estimated at $1.2 trillion in 2010, or 1.6 per cent of world GDP, and is projected to rise to 3.2 per cent by 2030.
Over the past several years alone, the severity of extreme weather events impacted millions of lives. In some cases, changes in climate will induce permanent or temporary displacements, and the forced movement of people will only increase over the coming decades.
In 2010, Canada ranked ninth among all nations in greenhouse gas emissions. As a wealthy nation, Canada has resources that will assist in adapting to future climate-related stressors domestically, and it is well positioned to help other countries respond to climate change.
Climate change is one factor that interacts with many others to drive population movements. Estimates of the number of climate-influenced migrants range widely, but most projections agree that in the coming years climate change will compel hundreds of millions of people to relocate.
Industrialized countries like Canada have benefitted enormously from the extraction and sale of fossil fuels, whereas others who have contributed least to climate change will disproportionately feel its impacts.
Despite Canada’s reputation for being open to immigrants and enjoying a diverse and multicultural society, our immigration policies are not welcoming of the most vulnerable people. We admit about 250,000 immigrants per year, an amount that has changed little since the early 1990s. The percentage of immigrants who are admitted under ``refugee status`` has fallen from a high of 23 per cent in 1991 to just nine per cent in 2012.
The Canadian government must take seriously its responsibility to help accommodate climate migrants, reassure the public that all levels of government are taking steps to address the impacts on social services involved, and invite society as a whole to the conversation on how Canada can undertake this ethical responsibility.
– Stephanie Dickson, Sophie Webber and Tim Takaro are co-authors of a new report, Preparing BC for Climate Migration. The report is part of the Climate Justice Project, a five-year research project led by the CCPA–BC and the University of BC.