Climate Change Results In Special Visa Category For Refugees

Most countries classify refugees based on discrimination and threat of violence or death due to their ethnicity, religion, political views, or nationality. Thanks to the threat posed by climate change, however, New Zealand is now considering testing a new category that involves people getting displaced due to the global phenomenon. Other countries might start implementing similar tests with the rate the climate is changing.

It started back in 2014 with the case of Ioane Teitiota, a refugee from the island of Kiribati, which is experiencing destructive climate change effects in the form of sea level rise, Futurism reports. At the time, the refugee was deported by the New Zealand government because none of the existing laws covered that particular case.

Fast-forward three years later, the country’s Green party is floating the idea of making a new visa policy based on the effects of climate change on fleeing refugees. According to the party’s lead, James Shaw, it’s basically an “experimental humanitarian” category, The Guardian recently reported.

“It is a piece of work that we intend to do in partnership with the Pacific islands,” Shaw said.

Unfortunately, no matter the good intention of creating a new visa category for climate change refugees, the proposal also comes with some troubling potential legal issues. According to Associate Professor Alberto Costi, an international environmental law expert, this would present the dilemma of whether or not these refugees would be permitted to return to their homes given that some may be under water.

“I have sympathy, but legally it creates a big debate…there needs to be clear guidelines,” Costi said. “It’s an idea to be explored. I would welcome more clarity.”

In any case, it’s clear that climate change is now presenting countries with new problems that were not previously in the sphere of awareness of the greater public. With sea level rise, intensifying hurricanes, and other natural disasters being fueled by an increasingly warm planet, climate change refugees are only going to multiply.