A research paper published in Science magazine “suggests that weather shocks are spurring people to seek asylum in the European Union,” the New York Times reports.
“The researchers found that over a 15-year period, asylum applications in Europe increased along with ‘hotter-than-normal temperatures’ in the countries where the asylum seekers had come from,” writes Somini Sengupta.
Sengupta notes that under international law, only those who have fled their countries because of war or persecution are entitled to refugee status. “People forced to leave home because of climate change, or who leave because climate change has made it harder for them to make a living, don’t qualify,” she writes.
But refugee advocates “fear that if the 1951 refugee treaty were opened for renegotiation, politicians in various countries would try to weaken the protections that exist now.”
The research paper is available here.
The Immigration and Refugee News Digest 