General Assembly President says ‘climate refugees’ are already a reality

Wednesday, 25 June 2008

Climate change is forcing people around the world to leave their villages or even their countries because of the increased frequency of floods and droughts and the re-emergence of diseases, General Assembly President Srgjan Kerim said today.

“The topic of climate refugees is no longer a concept – it is a sad fact,” said Mr. Kerim at the first annual meeting of the Global Humanitarian Forum, held in Geneva. He said the impact of global warming was already so intense that it was altering the lives of the world’s most vulnerable people, calling for “a global alliance for action” to devise solutions to the problems raised by climate change.

My thoughts: I think that many people in the American midwest would agree after record floods caused thousands and thousands to flee their homes earlier this year. I guess that would make them "Climate Refugees" too.