Climate Change Forcing Pacific Islanders to Migrate

Climate change is causing huge damage to our environment and is resulting in warming up of earth. Now a recent survey has shown that sea level rise caused due to climate change has forced people living in low-lying Pacific islands to migrate.

People of these areas are now asking that they are in high need of refugee asylum after climate change resulted in sea level rise. Although several people have associated ‘refugee crisis’ with the current tensions in Syria, natives of Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Nauru said that irreversible effects of climate change are forcing them to leave their homes and move to other distant places.

The report by the United Nations University and the European Union presented at the United Nations talks on Wednesday revealed that climate change refugees from Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Nauru will become a prevalent international issue by 2055.

As per the report, these three island nations have so far faced highest impact of sea level rise. Nearly 94%, 97% and 74% of households have faced serious climate change impacts in Kiribati, Tuvalu, and Nauru.

Countries such as New Zealand have clearly shut their doors for these Pacific islanders because they say they do not fit the typical refugee description. The UN refugee agency has also opposed granting climate refugees the typical refugee benefits, such as asylum.

Tuvalu’s Prime Minister Enele Sosene Sopoaga told Reuters in reference to the report that Pacific islanders are facing huge impacts of climate change and are increasingly finding themselves with few options.