MOAS launched the Climate Campaign because we have seen how climate change has impacted people globally and as we face more extreme and frequent disasters, it is important to focus on how we can act, to protect our future. We have seen that while climate change can affect anyone, it does not impact everyone equally and with this campaign, we want to bring light to what is happening around the world and how climate disasters are impacting communities. We want to voice how we can come together and educate ourselves, our peers, our friends, and our families, so that we may build spaces to discuss solutions not just in technical scientific circles, but in our communities too.
Ahead of the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference, COP27, global scientists have released a new report highlighting key aspects of the climate emergency. The authors say that 16 of 35 planetary vital signs used to track climate change are at record extremes. We have seen an increasing frequency of extreme heat events and heat-related deaths, rising tree cover loss due to fires and continued deforestation, and a greater prevalence of insects and diseases thriving in the warming climate. As temperatures increase, the permafrost which covers large swathes of the northern hemisphere will continue to melt, exposing new bacteria and viruses and adding to the prevalence of diseases impacting communities globally.
Food insecurity and malnutrition already caused by droughts and other climate-related extreme events in developing countries will continue to increase as we face more extreme weather conditions. None of these events can be taken in isolation when we come to understand climate change and its impacts on humanity, they intersect, and the consequences can act as multipliers to other pressures and issues.
Impact on migration
One of the major impacts of climate change, which often falls under the radar, is the impact on migration. Human beings have always been migratory. Throughout history, we have searched for new lands, new environments, where we could settle and build communities. Sometimes we choose to move, but sometimes we have no choice. If the land we live on is no longer safe, we can no longer harvest the food we need to feed our families, our land has been ravaged by fires, floods, storms or we are faced with conflicts whose parties have used environmental degradation as a tool for enrolment, we are forced to leave. The impacts of climate change can force people from their homes, but currently, they have no formal legal protection.
Our climate campaign seeks to help you understand climate change, its impacts and consequences, and how it will interplay with migration for years to come. We can speculate on what the future might bring, or we can make changes now, to protect future generations. Keep following our campaign on our social media to find out more!
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