The Plight of Climate Refugees

A free screening of Climate Refugees will be shown at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Ephraim on March 18 at 4:30 pm.

A “climate refugee” is a person displaced by climatically induced environmental disaster. Filmed in Bangladesh, Tuvalu, China, Fiji, Chad, Sudan, Kenya, Maldives, Europe and the U.S., this documentary explores the global human impact of climate change and its serious destabilizing effect on international politics. The film turns the distant concept of global warming into a concrete human problem with enormous worldwide consequences.

Experts predict that by mid-century hundreds of millions of people will be uprooted as a result of sea level rise and an increase in extreme weather events, droughts and desertification. Little is being done to plan for the potential mass migration of millions of refugees who will be forced to cross national borders.

According to the UN, there are already more environmental refugees in the world than political or religious refugees. The Pentagon now considers climate change a national security risk and the phrase “climate wars” is being discussed in war-rooms.

The filmmakers traveled the world for nearly three years to document the impact of climate change, witnessing inhabitants of countries forced to leave their homes by climatic events with little or no protection. The film features a variety of leading scientists, relief workers, security consultants, and major political figures, including John Kerry and Newt Gingrich. All make a strong case that, whether human-caused or a product of nature, the changing climate is already creating humanitarian disasters and will inevitably lead to worldwide political instability.

The film is part of the monthly Movies That Matter series examining a wide range of issues. The UU Fellowship is located at 10341 Highway 42 in north Ephraim. For further information call 920.854.7559.