Dear friends,

Today, on international Human Rights Day, I'm pleased to share with you a new report on climate refugees from our Institute which shines a light on the plight of millions of people around the world who are being forced to flee their homes because their regions have become uninhabitable due to sea level rise, intense storms, droughts, and fires.

The number of these people, who are aptly called climate refugees, is increasing as the effects of the climate crisis become more severe. Most of the burden of the climate crisis is falling on vulnerable countries in the Global South, whose populations have contributed the least to causing the catastrophe uprooting them from their communities and threatening our planet.

We have a responsibility to care for all refugees and forced migrants who are struggling to survive, whether they are fleeing war, political repression, or extreme weather. But climate refugees, as our new report shows, are particularly vulnerable because, unlike those who migrate to escape violence, those who are fleeing the effects of the climate crisis are afforded no legal protections under international law.

The new report, titled "Climate Refugees: The Climate Crisis and Rights Denied," authored by Elsadig Elsheikh and Hossein Ayazi, makes a compelling case that urges the international community to take immediate steps to address this crisis by calling for a legally-binding convention that protects climate refugees.

The urgency of this call to action cannot be overstated. Every day we are witnessing the toll the climate crisis is taking on individuals around the world, like in the recent flooding in east Africa which has killed hundreds of people, or the devastating scenes of the Amazon rainforest being devoured by flames in areas populated by Indigenous peoples.

Prediction models show that things will only get worse, especially for low-lying coastal regions which will soon be submerged under water. In just the next 30 years Bangladesh is projected to lose 17 percent of its land, which will force 20 million people to relocate. Some countries, like the Maldives, may cease to exist altogether as their islands disappear under the rising oceans.

I invite you all to read our report and share it widely to learn more about this profoundly consequential situation, and the solutions we must demand to ensure all people are cared for and afforded the protections and rights to resettle and pursue meaningful and dignified lives.

Warm regards,
john a. powell
Director, Othering & Belonging Institute, and Professor of Law, African American, and Ethnic Studies at UC Berkeley