Climate security

Europe’s next crisis: Climate change could create millions of new refugees

Nearly 400,000 migrants have streamed into Europe this year, setting off the continent’s largest refugee crisis since World War II. But the tide of desperation is nothing compared to the flood of environmental refugees that could be created by unchecked climate change, experts and elected officials warn.

President Obama set the tone in a speech last week in Alaska, where he summoned images of “desperate refugees,” “entire industries of people who can’t practice livelihoods” and “political disruptions that could trigger conflicts around the world.” Secretary of State John Kerry dubbed them “climate refugees,” and warned of a global fight for food, water and “mere survival.”