Invoking a looming climate-related migration ‘crisis’ has become increasingly common. But evidence suggests that the rhetorical strategy around large numbers of ‘climate migrants’ may not only be backfiring – with border security budgets growing in response – but also overstating the reality.
New research suggests that fewer people will be on the move as a result of climate disasters than previously thought. Widely-cited climate scientist Norman Myers predicted there would be 200 million environmental refugees by 2050 – but much of this data was based on global forecasts that attempt to isolate environmental factors as a cause of migration.
