Eleventh International Conference on Climate Change: Impacts & Responses

Abstract

While there are many economic, political and cultural reasons for human migration and immigration, climate change has become a major distinct causal factor for population dislocation and disturbance. Climate change produces population upheaval because climate change adversely affects food security, water security, land security and energy security. Climate change not only produces but increases the severity of both acute and chronic natural disasters. There is a striking overlap between political/migratory turmoil and climate turmoil. Because climate change increases resource scarcity, it exacerbates existing conflicts and engenders new ones. It is expected that climate change will become in a few years the major cause of population disturbance and of resultant migration and immigration. Climate change differentially impacts different world regions and exacerbates the problems of poverty and economic/social inequality. Climate change increases resource scarcity thereby increasing conflict over limited resources. Such migration and immigration poses serious questions for global stability, conflict and peace. Environmental migrants and environmentally displaced persons will be a major factor for instability and conflict in global politics. This paper examines the how climate change causes population migration with resultant turmoil and the effects of this migration on the international political system.