ABSTRACT

It’s a problem that we see;

it’s a problem that’s
predicted to get worse.
What should we do about
it?
Shane Donaher
April 15, 2020

THE ENVIRONMENTAL
REFUGEE CRISIS
Addressing what America Always Thought it Could Address Later
 In 2019, Hurricane Dorian killed at least 50 people within The Bahamas (a low estimate

because 1,000 more were reported as missing),i and displaced 70,000 people (1/5 of the nation’s

population) from their homes.ii The debris from the hurricane has made it nearly impossible to

reconstruct over the land,iii resulting in tens of thousands of people without a house or even an

optimistic outlook for getting one in the future. Despite these struggles, President Donald

Trump’s administration did not grant temporary protected status to citizens of The Bahamas:

essentially meaning that they would not be given easy access to temporary living arrangements

or work permits within the United States.iv Unfortunately, countries have been meeting similar

fates as The Bahamas across the globe, and

the occurrences of environmental refugees

only show the potential to increase in

magnitude due to the planet’s rising

temperatures. The effects of climate change

will displace over 143 million additional

people by 2050.v The United States, a

Photograph: Abaco, Bahamas following Hurricane
significant contributor to carbon emissions Dorian

and among the wealthiest nations in the world, has an obligation to actively participate in refugee

resettlement and to strive to mitigate its role in contributing to climate change.

The effects of global warming on refugees have become particularly obvious within the

past ten years. The current global CO2 concentration sits over 400 parts per million: a value that

hasn’t been reached in the past 3 million years and is projected to rise, resulting in an increase of

floods and storms, especially in coastal areas.vi In 2014, The Small Island Developing States

Accelerated Modalities of Action of the United Nations stated that they “recognise that sea-level
rise and other adverse impacts of climate change continue to pose a significant risk to small

island developing States and their efforts to achieve sustainable development, and for many,

represent the gravest of threats to their survival and viability, including for some through the loss

of territory”.vii In 2016, 24.2 million people were forced to leave their homes as a result of

natural disasters, many of whom lived on islands, with the specifics shown in Figure 1. viii Fiji,

the nation with the second-to-

highest per capita displacements, is

estimated to have to relocate up to

1.7 million people by 2050.ix The

tragedy is that most island states are

small nations that lack the resources

to take appropriate action to prevent

Figure 1: Number of people displaced by natural disasters per 100,000
inhabitants of the country in 2016 (showing the ten countries with
or relieve the effects of these highest numbers)

disasters.x

The paradigm shift of the United States’ attitude towards refugees is evidenced by more

than just The Bahamas and Hurricane Dorian. The United States was, for a very long time,

perceived as a haven for immigrants and refugees, for it took in more refugees than every other

nation combined until the year 2017.xi The maximum number of refugees the United States can

take within a given year is determined by the president, and how close the nation gets to this

number, as well as which specific refugees are taken in for a given year, is determined by the

State Department and Department of Homeland Security. xii The number of refugees taken in by

the nation historically peaked in 2016, during President Obama’s last year of presidency. The

count soared to 84,994 refugees,xiii but then dropped dramatically as evidenced by Figure 2. xiv
 2017 marked a year in which 68.5 million

humans were forced to leave their homes:

more than ever before in recorded history. Yet

evidence predicts that this number will be

topped in the future,xv showing the particular

urgency of the crisis in this century.

When discussing environmental

Figure 2: Comparison of the number of

refugees admitted within the United States
compared to every other country combined for
years 1982-2018
refugees, equally relevant as the country’s
attitude towards refugees are America’s
actions regarding climate change.

Governments throughout the world participated in the first-ever world-wide step towards a

greener future in 2016, with the signing of the Paris Agreement, which set out a number of non-

restrictive measures to decrease the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere throughout

the world.xvi The universal acceptance of the importance of this treaty is shown through the fact

that, as of 2018, it had been signed by every sovereign nation.xvii However, President Donald

Trump announced the withdrawal from the Paris Agreement on November 4, 2019, and, if no

other action is taken, this withdrawal will become effective on November 4, 2020,xviii leaving the

United States as the only sovereign nation that is not part of the agreement.

Due to its history of both being incredibly welcoming of refugees and rejecting them by

the millions as well as its situation as a country that doesn’t intend to address climate change in

the same manner as the rest of the world, the United States has proven itself as having potential

to hold one of the largest impacts on the environmental refugee crisis of any country.
Advocation #1: Take More Environmental Refugees

The most direct way in which

America is involved in the environmental

refugee crisis is dependent on whether or

not the nation opens its borders to those that

are victim of it. The United States currently

treats the concept of refugees in a relatively

conservative manner. According to Figure 3,

USA is ranked 50th in the world regarding

the number of refugees it takes per capita. xix

The United States should modify legislation

to accept more climate refugees due to the

benefits that they offer to the nation and

because the United States should feel

morally obliged to assist those removed

from their homes as a result of climate

Figure 3: Percent of population that is composed of refugees
within the top fifty countries with highest results along with the
change. average percent composition of refugees for all nations

Environmental refugees, with small drawbacks, evidence the ability to bring positive

additions to the American economy. Some argue that refugees add harmful competition to the

job market, but the truth is that they typically pursue lower paying jobs that natural-born citizens

would not consider, particularly due to the refugees’ lack of a stronghold of the English

language.xx At the same time however, immigrants, while making up 15% of the total population,
make up 25% of entrepreneurship within the United States. Corporations started by immigrants

results in the creation of around 1.5 million jobs every year.xxi Also, while there would be an

increase in the few instances in which a refugee directly competes with a native-born American,

just as immigrants serve as producers, they also serve as consumers. Increased purchases of

goods and services by immigrants, oftentimes at the low-end of the market due to the average

financial situations of a refugee, create job opportunities that native-born Americans can take

up.xxii

Even if taking in environmental refugees proved to be detrimental to the economy, it

remains something that the United States should feel responsible to do. The United States makes

up under 5% of the global population but has contributed to 25% of global carbon emissions

since 1850.xxiii In 2016, the United States emitted the most carbon per capita out of any nation,

sitting at 14.95 tons per person. The global average carbon emission per capita for any nation

was 4.35 tons that year. xxiv Considering how responsible the United States is for displacing such

a large number of number of people from their communities in order to increase the quality of

life of its own citizens, it is just for the nation to pursue a more selfless approach to the treatment

of environmental refugees.

Failure to adopt policies that lead to a greater acceptance of refugees will result in both

missed opportunity for economic prosperity and a worsened image of the United States on a

global scale. The United States’ willingness to extend its benefits to people in need would likely

result in a corresponding increase in the country’s popularity to nations across the globe. This is

particularly important now, considering the fact that the global perception of the United States is

at one of the lowest that it has ever been, xxv and a refusal to make more selfless decisions in the

future could potentially result in the loss of trading partners and allies.
Advocation #2: Decrease Carbon Production Within the Nation

Another role that America has in the climate refugee crisis is its contribution to the

number of people that are displaced from their homes in the first place. If the United States

manages to decrease the number of people that are displaced by climate change, this would

significantly lessen the burden of taking them in. As the leading producer of carbon per capita

worldwidexxvi and the second-to-largest producer of carbon total, xxvii America has a

disproportional ability to decrease the rate at which global warming takes place. The United

States government plays a large role in the country’s production of carbon dioxide, for it has

historically aided fossil fuel corporations. For example, in 2015, the US government spent $649

billion on subsidies towards fossil fuel corporations, which was significantly more than any

nation except China.xxviii The relationship between fossil fuel industries and the government has a

clear correlation to a nation’s carbon footprint, xxix and this relationship doesn’t show any signs of

lessening within the United States. For example, in 2017 President Trump signed an executive

order that mandated federal agencies to lessen their restrictions on carbon emissions.xxx If the

United States government stopped subsidizing carbon dioxide emissions, and instead took

actions to limit how much could be produced within its borders, this would likely decrease the

number of environmental refugees in the near-future while also paving the way for alternative,

renewable energy sources.

 The two most common ways in which a government can mandate a lower production of

carbon throughout its nation are the implementation of a carbon tax or the establishment of a

cap-and-trade system. A carbon

tax is exactly as it sounds:

entities are directly charged for

the amount of carbon dioxide

that they release into the

atmosphere.xxxi A similar but

alternative way of achieving the

same goal is to grant industries a

Figure 4: Diagram depicting a cap-and-trade system
finite amount of carbon that they

can emit, and to give corporations the right to buy these grants from each other, allowing

industries that need to produce a lot of carbon the right to while rewarding industries that choose

to produce less (this is known as a cap-and-trade systemxxxii and is depicted in Figure 4). Japan,

Mexico, Australia, most countries in Europe, and many other nations have established either a

direct tax on carbon, a cap-and-trade system, or both. Additionally, countries such as China,

Brazil, and Canada have been having discussions regarding the establishment of one of these

policies in the future. The United States remains one of the only developed nations that has yet to

consider this possibility.xxxiii

Although ideally the United States would establish nation-wide restrictions on carbon,

state governments have evidenced that federal involvement with the issue is not absolutely

necessary to achieve desired results. California established its own cap-and-trade system in

2013,xxxiv and since then the state has seen a significant increase in economic and population
growth, but a decrease in greenhouse gas emissions.xxxv Although these trends were present

before the year 2013 as well, the annual carbon emissions started lowering significantly after the

law was enforced, while the economic growth remained untainted.xxxvi This evidences that the

change has minimal negative effects but can drastically decrease carbon emissions. Similarly, ten

northeastern states have joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI),xxxvii a program

that mandates its members follow a policy that limits greenhouse emissions within their power

sector.xxxviii These states have also had above-average economic growth, as well as decreased

carbon emissions, compared to other states since this initiative was put into place.xxxix More

states, such as Pennsylvania, evidence potential to join in this initiative in coming years.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf issued an executive order in 2019 that established a number

of environmental standards, including the joining of the RGII, but there many steps that must be

taken before this takes place. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection must

establish the specifics of what the executive order entails, then both The Environmental Quality

Board and The General Assembly must approve of the plan.xl This evidences how difficult

implementing such a dynamic policy is, hence, why there must be a great deal of support behind

movements to establish restrictions on carbon at the state-level.

The difficulties in establishing a change in energy production sources would pay off in

the form of increased economic prosperity within the nation. As of 2017, technology brought

wind energy to an efficiency of $30-60 per megawatt-hour and solar energy to $43-53 per

megawatt-hour. Alternatively, the most efficient natural gas production costed $43-78 per

megawatt-hour and coal sat at a minimum of $60 per megawatt-hour.xli Subsidies that keep fossil

fuel corporations with enough money to inhibit competition from alternative energy sources will

continue to halt their growth, preventing renewable energy from rising much higher than the
11% that it currently supply to the nation’s power output.xlii To raise this percentage, there must

be major economic reform because, according to Figure 5, the United States ranks tenth as far as

investment into renewable energy as a percent of its GDP. As other nations continually invest

more into renewable energy than the United Sates, the nation will fall behind in its ability to

compete as a global economic leader.

Figure 5: Federal investment into renewable energy as a percentage of the nation’s GDP for the top
ten countries with highest results

The negative effects of climate change on humans have become clear, and the United

States simply plays too large of a role in global warming. However, with the forewarned removal

of the nation from the Paris Agreement, the America currently doesn’t evidence a desire to

enforce legislation that appropriately moderates its carbon emissions in the near-future.xliii

Failure to adopt federal and state policies that discourage carbon production within the country
will result in devastating effects on the natural world, a horrible global perception of the United

States, and missed economic opportunity.

Requested Action

The evidence regarding the sincerity of the issue of climate refugees is just as obvious as

the evidence regarding the ability to act upon it. Failure to take appropriate action as this

problem becomes more severe will result in calamitous consequences. From both a moral and

practical standpoint, the following claims describe the most appropriate course of action for the

federal and state government of the United States of America to participate in.

Within the 2020s, the president must drastically increase the ceiling for the number of

refugees the nation can take in to a similar number to that of President Obama’s last year of

presidency. Also, the State Department and Department of Homeland Security must make

greater strides to reach the number specified.

To mitigate the rate of climate change, participation can and must be done at both the

federal and state level. The federal government must cancel its plans to remove the United States

from the Paris Agreement and work to decrease the drastically high greenhouse gas emissions

within the country. In addition, state governments must take responsibility to limit the production

of carbon within their own borders, notably by joining the RGGI and enforcing its policies.

The discussion of global warming’s detrimental effect on mankind is no longer a problem

of tomorrow: it is a problem of today. Action within the United States must be taken now to both

address the crisis that the world is currently facing and to decrease the rate at which this tragedy

worsens.
References:

i Molly Enking, “U.S. Won’t Take Climate Refugees Displaced by Hurricane Dorian,” Grist, Sep. 13, 2019
(https://grist.org/article/u-s-wont-take-climate-refugees-displaced-by-hurricane-dorian/).
ii Gwyneth Bernier, The New Stateless Peoples: Confronting US Culpability in the Climate Refugee Crisis, Common

Dreams, https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/12/04/new-stateless-peoples-confronting-us-culpability-
climate-refugee-crisis (Last accessed Apr. 7, 2020).
iii Marketplace, “A Bahamian Island Works to Recover from Hurricane Dorian,” Jan. 6, 2020:

https://www.marketplace.org/2020/01/06/bahamian-island-works-to-recover-from-hurricane-dorian/.
iv Enking, “U.S. Won’t Take Climate Refugees Displaced by Hurricane Dorian”.
v John Podesta, The Climate Crisis, Migration, and Refugees, The Brookings Institution,

https://www.brookings.edu/research/the-climate-crisis-migration-and-refugees/ (Last accessed Apr. 8, 2020).

vi Donald Wuebbles, “How Will Climate Change Affect the United States in Decades to Come?,” American

Geophysical Union, Nov. 3, 2017 (https://eos.org/features/how-will-climate-change-affect-the-united-states-in-

decades-to-come).
vii United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, and others, Climate Change and

Migration Issues in the Pacific, http://www.ilo.org/dyn/migpractice/docs/261/Pacific.pdf (Last accessed Apr. 8,

2020).
viii Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, Global Report on International Displacement, https://www.internal-

displacement.org/global-report/grid2017/ (Last accessed Apr. 8, 2020).

ix United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, How Fiji is Impacted by Climate Change,

https://unfccc.int/news/how-fiji-is-impacted-by-climate-change (Last accessed Apr. 8, 2020).

x United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, How Fiji is Impacted by Climate Change.
xi American Immigration Council, An Overview of U.S. Refugee Law and Policy,

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/research/overview-us-refugee-law-and-policy (Last accessed Apr. 8,

2020).
xii Ibid.
xiii Ibid.
xiv Pew Research Center, U.S. Trailed Rest of World in Refugee Resettlement After Leading it for Decades,

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/10/07/key-facts-about-refugees-to-the-u-s/ft_19-10-
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xv Podesta, The Climate Crisis, Migration, and Refugees.
xvi United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, The Paris Agreement, https://unfccc.int/process-

and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/the-paris-agreement (Last accessed Apr. 8, 2020).

xvii Lisa Friedman, “Syria Joins Paris Climate Accord, Leaving Only U.S. Opposed,” The New York Times, Nov. 7, 2017

(https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/07/climate/syria-joins-paris-agreement.html).
xviii Keith Johnson, “Is the United States Really Leaving the Paris Climate Agreement?,” Foreign Policy, Nov. 5 2019

(https://foreignpolicy.com/2019/11/05/paris-climate-agreement-united-states-withdraw/).
xix David J. Bier, 49 Nations Accept Asylees & Refugees at Higher Rates Than America, CATO Institute,

https://www.cato.org/blog/49-nations-accept-asylees-refugees-higher-rates-america (Last accessed Apr. 8, 2020).

xx Dany Bahar, Why Accepting Refugees is a Win-Win-Win Formula, The Brookings Institute,

https://www.brookings.edu/blog/up-front/2018/06/19/refugees-are-a-win-win-win-formula-for-economic-
development/ (Last accessed Apr. 8 2020).
xxi Ibid.
xxii University of Pennsylvania, The Effects of Immigration on the United States’ Economy,

https://budgetmodel.wharton.upenn.edu/issues/2016/1/27/the-effects-of-immigration-on-the-united-states-
economy (Last accessed Apr. 8, 2020).
xxiii Bernier, The New Stateless Peoples: Confronting US Capability in the Climate Refugee Crisis.
xxiv Henry Bewicke, Chart of the Day: These Countries Have the Largest Carbon Footprints, World Economic Forum,
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2019/01/chart-of-the-day-these-countries-have-the-largest-carbon-footprints/
(Last Accessed Apr. 8, 2020).
xxv Pew Research Center, America’s International Image Continues to Suffer,

https://www.pewresearch.org/global/2018/10/01/americas-international-image-continues-to-suffer/ (Last
accessed Apr. 8, 2020).
xxvi Bewicke, Chart of the Day: These Countries Have the Largest Carbon Footprints.
xxvii Union of Concerned Scientists, Each Country’s Share of CO Emissions, https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/each-
2
countrys-share-co2-emissions (Last accessed Apr. 8, 2020).
xxviii Environmental and Energy Study Institute, Fact Sheet: Fossil Fuel Subsidies: A Closer Look at Tax Breaks and

Societal Costs, https://www.eesi.org/papers/view/fact-sheet-fossil-fuel-subsidies-a-closer-look-at-tax-breaks-and-

societal-costs (Last accessed Apr. 8, 2020).
xxix Ibid.
xxx Marianne Lavelle, “Trump’s Executive Order: More Fossil Fuels, Regardless of Climate Change,” Inside Climate

News, Mar. 28, 2017 (https://insideclimatenews.org/news/28032017/trump-executive-order-climate-change-

paris-climate-agreement-clean-power-plan-pruitt).
xxxi Carbon Tax Center, What’s a Carbon Tax, https://www.carbontax.org/whats-a-carbon-tax/ (Date accessed: Apr.

8, 2020).
xxxii The World Bank, What is Carbon Pricing, https://www.worldbank.org/en/programs/pricing-carbon (Date

accessed: Apr. 8, 2020).

xxxiii Carbon Tax Center, Where is Carbon Taxed, https://www.carbontax.org/where-carbon-is-taxed/ (Last accessed

Apr. 8, 2020).
xxxiv Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, California Cap and Trade, https://www.c2es.org/content/california-

cap-and-trade/ (Last accessed: Apr. 8, 2020).

xxxv California Air Resources Board, GHG Current California Emission Inventory Data, https://ww2.arb.ca.gov/ghg-

inventory-data (Last accessed Apr. 8, 2020).

xxxvi Ibid.
xxxvii Center for Climate and Energy Solutions, Market-Based State Policy, https://www.c2es.org/content/market-

based-state-policy/ (Last accessed Apr. 8, 2020).

xxxviii The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative Incorporated, Welcome, https://www.rggi.org (Last accessed Apr. 8,

2020).
xxxix Sarah Shemkus, “How Much Credit Does RGII Deserve for the Northeast’s Progress on Emissions?,” Energy

News Network, Oct. 25, 2019 (https://energynews.us/2019/10/25/northeast/how-much-credit-does-rggi-deserve-

for-the-northeasts-progress-on-emissions/).
xl Mark Szybist, Governor Wolf Says PA Will Join RGII. Now What?, Natural Resources Defense Council

Incorporated, https://www.nrdc.org/experts/mark-szybist/governor-wolf-moving-forward-rggi-what-now (Last

accessed: Apr. 8, 2020).
xli Mary Wales, The Cost of Renewable Energy vs Fossil Fuels, Nature’s Path Organic,

https://www.naturespath.com/en-us/ (Last accessed: Apr. 8, 2020).

xlii The United States Energy Information Administration, U.S. Energy Facts Explained,

https://www.eia.gov/energyexplained/us-energy-facts/ (Last accessed Apr. 8, 2020).

xliii Rebecca Hersher, “U.S. Formally Begins to Leave the Climate Agreement,” NPR, Nov. 9, 2019

(https://www.npr.org/2019/11/04/773474657/u-s-formally-begins-to-leave-the-paris-climate-agreement
Image Citations:

1. Cover Photo: Should Environmental Refugees be Granted Asylum Status?

https://businessmirror.com.ph/2017/12/10/should-environmental-refugees-be-granted-
asylum-status/
2. Photograph: Abaco, Bahamas following Hurricane Dorian: Al Jazeera English
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2019/09/hurricane-dorian-75000-urgent-aid-bahamas-
190905203916583.html
3. Figure 1: Number of people displaced by natural disasters per 100,000 inhabitants of the
country in 2016 (showing the ten countries with highest numbers): International
Displacement Monitoring Center https://www.internal-displacement.org/global-
report/grid2017/
4. Figure 2: Comparison of the number of refugees admitted within the United States
compared to every other country combined for years 1982-2018: Pew Research Center
https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/10/07/key-facts-about-refugees-to-the-u-
s/ft_19-10-07_refugees_us-trailed-world-refugee-resettlement-2017-2018/
5. Figure 3: Percent of population that is composed of refugees within the top fifty countries
with highest results along with the average percentage composition of refugees for all
nations: CATO Institute https://www.cato.org/blog/49-nations-accept-asylees-refugees-
higher-rates-america
6. Figure 4: Diagram depicting cap-and-trade system: CalWatchdog
https://calwatchdog.com/2016/08/12/cap-trade-carbon-tax-showdown-looms/
7. Figure 5: Federal investment into renewable energy as a percentage of the nation’s GDP
for the top ten countries with highest results: Our World in Data
https://ourworldindata.org/energy