Climate Change And Mass Migration
The archaeological record provides ample evidence as to how human civilizations react to catastrophic climate change – they move. This happened in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. And it is an issue now for the low-lying country of Tuvalu, which is experiencing sea-level rise, fears future inundation and is literally trying to find land to recreate itself, or at least to relocate its citizens.Projected climate changes – in sea level, weather patterns, ocean currents – will occur, science tells us, on a scale and pace unprecedented in human history. There is absolutely no doubt that large numbers of people will be displaced and forced to migrate. For example, a sea level rise of only 3-15 feet is expected to displace between 150 and 400 million people.
Mass migration associated with climate change will challenge the world's political, economic, social and humanitarian relief capabilities mightily. It is also likely to increase demands on U.S. and other advanced defense forces capable of helping to manage mass movements of people, assure international order and provide humanitarian relief.
Additional Information
- Confronting Climate Change: Avoiding the Unmanageable and Managing the Avoidable - United Nations Foundation and Sigma XI, The Scientific Research Society
- The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
