Climate Migration: Security Threat or Leadership Opportunity for the United States
Though appearing to be a distant phenomenon plaguing the Global South, climate migration is a threat that will impact nations around the world. Although the term ‘climate migration’ may inspire images of people fleeing large-scale natural disasters, its effect is also cumulative. Some drivers of climate migration include warming impacting agricultural production, drought limiting access to clean water, rising sea levels making coastal regions uninhabitable, new competition over natural resources, and the intensification of natural disasters (Martin, 398). Climate change drives people to move between communities, from rural-to-urban environments, and across borders and experts estimate that by 2050, 250 million people will be uprooted because of climate change (Mayer 2012, 28). Rehousing this number of refugees in new communities will prove to be a challenge, creating social tensions as competition for resources increases. More so, climate change is generally driven by developed nations but disproportionately impacts the Global South. Affected countries have begun to call for the main greenhouse gas emitters, the United States, Europe, and Japan, to take responsibility, potentially by rehousing climate refugees (Mayer 2012, 34).
Generally, world leaders have been slow in enacting laws or a system of governance regarding climate migration at the regional, national, and international levels (Martin 2010, 398). If the United States acknowledges the threat climate migration poses and creates a policy that will allow climate migrants to seek asylum, the United States could retake its position as a global leader against climate change. This would give the United States the opportunity to regain leadership as no other global powers have created concrete plans to facilitate climate migration. The Biden Administration released its first report on climate migration in October 2021. This report recognizes that climate migration will significantly impact international security and cause conflict driven by insecurity (Rubiano and Mahoney 2021). It also acknowledged that the current framework regarding climate migration is lacking because of its primary focus on cataclysmic natural disasters rather than slow-onset climate impacts. This highly anticipated report received praise for even existing but faced some backlash for not being specific on policies and pathways for the future. The report demonstrates that the United States has begun to see climate migration as a huge threat but admits that they do not currently possess a plan to slow its effects.
The United States lost credibility regarding its commitment to mitigating the effects of climate change during the Trump administration, reversing domestic climate policies, withdrawing from the Paris Agreement, and refusing to cooperate with global actors (Yu, 2020). These actions inspired questions about the United States’ consistency and commitment to the cause. However, by creating a clear framework regarding a more specific issue like climate migration, the United States can demonstrate that it can be a leader in the fight against climate change.
If the United States and the Biden Administration do not lead the world in the fight against climate change, it will confirm feelings of diminished confidence in America’s viability to lead the international order. Given these stakes, the United States needs to demonstrate its capabilities as a reliable leader and partner. To accomplish this, the United States should start by creating its framework to accept climate migrants. Currently, to seek asylum in the United States, migrants must prove that they are being prosecuted by a specific group (Phillips 2021). If the United States expands reasons behind seeking asylum to include climate-induced migration, it could provide an example for other nations to follow. Also, partnering with non-state actors to help find more solutions will incorporate the voices of experts. Making proactive changes in the political framework surrounding climate migration will show the United States’ ability to be a leader against climate change and cooperate with other nations. While climate migration may pose a threat, it doubles as an opportunity for the United States in the international system.
Photo: New York Times
Works Cited:
Martin, Susan. “Climate Change, Migration, and Governance.” Global Governance 16, no. 3 (2010): 397–414. http://www.jstor.org/stable/29764954.
Mayer, Benoit. “Governing International Climate Induced Migration.” Climate Change, Migration and Human Security in Southeast Asia , January 1, 2012.
https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/resrep05890.6.pdf.
Paula Rubiano A., María, and Adam Mahoney. “'Disappointing': Joe Biden's First Climate Migration
Report Falls Flat.” Grist, October 25, 2021. https://grist.org/climate/disappointing-the-uss-firstclimate-migration-report-falls-flat.
Phillips, Anna M. “U.S. Must Act to Protect Climate Migrants, Government Report Says.” Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, October 21, 2021. https://www.latimes.com/environment/story/202110-21/report-the-u-s-needs-to-act-to-protect-climate-migrants.
Yu, Alan. “How U.S. Diplomacy and Diplomats Can Help Get International Climate Action Back on Track.” Center for American Progress, December 8, 2020.https://www.americanprogress.org/article/u-s-diplomacy-diplomats-can-help-get-international\climate-action-back-track/.