The Climate Refugee Crisis

Opportunities to Make a Difference

Consider a Donation to Refugees International

If you’re looking to help out with the climate refugee crisis, we're a fan of Refugees International, a well respected non-profit, focused on three primary pillars.

Investigating challenges displaced people face
Creating policy solutions
Demanding action

Refugees International

Help Get a Carbon Tax and Rebate Across the Finish Line!

This week we want to focus back again on getting the Biden administration to support a carbon tax and rebate. Are we optimistic? Yes, that’s kind of our thing, but the stakes are huge so we need to do everything we can to ensure Washington makes it happen.

Take two minutes (or less!) and send a FB or IG message to the White House account.

Potential Talking Points

I'm deeply concerned about climate change
We need solutions that get us to net zero carbon emissions by 2050
I strongly urge you to support Senate Democrats proposal for a carbon tax and rebate as part of reconciliation bill
Thank you for all you're doing to address climate change

The White House | Facebook

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Show Notes

This Week’s Reason for Hope

EPA rules slashing HFCs set to go into effect next month

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) are used in refrigeration and air conditioning

HFCs hundreds to thousands times more potent greenhouse gas than CO2

U.S. planning to cut HFCs by 85% over next 15 years

Cuts amount to 4.5B tons of CO2 equivalent ~ 3 yrs of U.S. power sector emissions

Sources

White House Is Set to Announce Limits on HFCs - The New York Times (nytimes.com)

Climate Action: Global Transition Away from HFCs | NRDC

Protecting Our Climate by Reducing Use of HFCs | US EPA

Climate Refugee Situation

Global

Since 2010, an average of 21.5M people / year are being displaced due to weather related events

According to Australian think tank IEP, the number could grow to over 1.2B by 2050

In 2018, the U.N. adopted the Global Compact on Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration that acknowledges the problem of climate refugees and calls on governments to protect them

Northern Triangle

Apprehensions at U.S. border are considered proxy for people crossing

Apprehensions are growing - 2010 – 50K, 2014 – 250K, 2016 – 409K

Sources

Climate refugees – the world’s forgotten victims | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)

Displaced on the frontlines of the climate emergency (arcgis.com)

https://docs.wfp.org/api/documents/WFP-0000022124/download/?_ga=2.85460124.46423775.1540402016-1767178983.1540402016

waddick_accessible.pdf (american.edu)

Other Referenced Sources

Root-Causes-Strategy.pdf (whitehouse.gov)

Contras - Wikipedia