18 May 2012 | Videos | Victims of climate change | Resisting neoliberalism | Human rights | Climate Justice and Energy
Climate Refugees
Coordinator of Friends of the Earth Asia-Pacific Demands Action to Tackle Serious Crisis of People Displaced by Climate Change
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The serious impacts of the climate crisis, including the rise of sea levels, heavy rains and floods, have lead to the displacement of thousands of people who are currently homeless in Asia-Pacific. We are not talking about a future threat, this is happening today. Some studies warn that by the end of the century there will be 200 million climate refugees in Asia.
The recognition of this category of people who have been forced to leave their homes and territories seriously hit by extreme climate events is one of the main demands made by Hemanta Withanage, Climate Justice and Energy coordinator of Friends of the Earth Asia-Pacific.
“In these negotiations the outside people are talking about burning Africa and in Asian countries we are talking about sinking Asia”, warns the activist.
Many small island states in Asia Pacific are sinking, he told Real World Radio at the latest United Nations climate talks held last December in Durban, South Africa.
Hemantha explained that the people are losing their homes, their
livelihood, their culture, their social relations. “This is a serious social and environmental crisis. No international organisations are acting to stop this”, he complained. He also said that this crisis not only affects Asia, but several regions in a world that saw nearly 350,000 deaths in 2009 in Asia alone as a result of natural disasters related with climate change, according to figures provided by the Global Humanitarian Forum.
