Climate Refugees May Reach Many Millions by 2050

Climate refugees, people fleeing climate change’s impacts by moving to new homes, may number over 140 million by 2050, the World Bank reports.

The number of climate refugees – people migrating to escape the effects of the warming climate – could reach many millions in barely 30 years from now, the World Bank says.

The total is a conservative one:  it is based on just three regions of the developing world, and considers only people migrating within their own countries, not those seeking a new life abroad.

A World Bank Group report says the worsening impacts of climate change in sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America could mean that by 2050 more than 140 million people had moved within their own countries’ borders, creating a human crisis and threatening development.

But concerted action – including global efforts to cut greenhouse gas emissions, and robust development planning at country level – could sharply reduce this worst-case scenario, the report says – by as much as 80%, or more than 100 million people.

In another perspective on climate migration, other analysts argue that it can be a valid way of adapting to a warmer future.

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