Listen to this podcast discussing a new article in Nature Communications on What predicts asylum migration flows to Europe, by Sebastian Schutte, Jonas Vestby, Jørgen Carling and Halvard Buhaug. The podcast features a converation reflecting on the idea that climate change = more asylum seekers? But can it be that simple?
Five years after the European migration and refugee crisis, displacement remains a pressing issue worldwide. According to the UNHCR, the global number of forcibly displaced people passed 80 million during 2020 – the highest estimate ever recorded. Several factors have contributed to this increase, including a rise in political violence and instability, and extreme weather events. But when it comes to calculating how many might be moving due to climate change, there are challenges. Scientific literature hasn't provided a satisfactory answer. In a new article for Nature Communications, Sebastian Schutte, Jonas Vestby, Jørgen Carling and Halvard Buhaug seek to fill this gap and address factors for asylum migration to the European Union. You can read the original study here. Or you can read a blog post about it here.