As I discussed in my last blog, a direct consequence of climate change is massive human displacement, which ultimately leads to modern slavery. Western countries, including the US and Europe, are struggling to come to terms with an increasing number of displaced people. These people often flee their homelands due to the loss of livelihoods caused by climate-change-induced droughts, floods, and hurricanes.
Such massive migration has been directly linked to modern forms of slavery, such as human trafficking, labor exploitation, and child labor. The rise in domestic servants, beggars, labor exploitation, and human trafficking in the Philippines in 2013 could be directly attributed to Typhoon Haiyan, which displaced 4.4 million people.
Whenever a climate event strikes in full fury, be it Katrina in the US in 2005 or Sidra in Bangladesh in 2007, there is a subsequent spike in human trafficking and exploitation - the modern forms of slavery.
According to a 2021 World Bank report, approximately 216 million people across six world regions will be forced to migrate by 2050.
The vexing part is that while modern slavery and climate change are inextricably linked, they are often perceived differently. In the medical world, there is a saying - a pain killer or a vitamin? Measures to fight modern slavery are usually like localized painkillers - to stem the immediate human suffering. However, tackling the root cause of this climate-induced human suffering, i.e. modern slavery, requires a long-term solution, a global vitamin, to address climate change. And that vitamin is the transition to a circular economy.
Circular organic fertilizers from dried leaves and cow excrement instead of industrial fertilizers can reduce waste generation. Recirculating products and extending product life result in reductions in CO2 emissions. Reducing demand for raw materials decreases pressure on ecosystems such as forests, which are crucial in regulating temperatures or preventing landslides.
The 2021 World Bank report also provided some hope: that a concerted effort to transition to a green economy and global emission reduction - all tenets of a circular economy - could reduce the scale of migration by 80 percent.
And when climate-induced migration reduces, it will directly reduce modern slavery.
References:
Schonhardt, S. (2022, February 4). Climate change drives migrants to U.S. border, Harris says. E&E News by POLITICO. https://www.eenews.net/articles/climate-change-drives-migrants-to-u-s-border-harris-says/
Human Trafficking in Southeast Asia – IMF Finance & Development Magazine | September 2018. (2018, September 1). IMF. https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/fandd/issues/2018/09/human-trafficking-in-southeast-asia-caballero
Geissler, R. (2022, June 16). Hurricanes & Human Trafficking: Natural Disasters Highlight the Vulnerability of America’s Farm Workers - Human Trafficking Institute. Human Trafficking Institute. https://traffickinginstitute.org/hurricanes-human-trafficking-natural-disasters-highlight-the-vulnerability-of-americas-farm-workers/
Climate Change Could Force 216 Million People to Migrate Within Their Own Countries by 2050. (2021, September 13). World Bank. https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2021/09/13/climate-change-could-force-216-million-people-to-migrate-within-their-own-countries-by-2050
Wang, K. (n.d.). 3 Ways the Circular Economy Can Aid Climate Action. World Resources Institute. https://www.wri.org/insights/3-ways-circular-economy-can-aid-climate-action
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