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14:13 18.07.2017(updated 14:19 18.07.2017) Get short URL

In the years to come, rampaging climate change transforming many places on Earth beyond recognition may unleash yet another wave of asylum seekers fleeing from areas rendered uninhabitable by floods, droughts or heat.

If not combated effectively, it can force tens ofmillions ofpeople toflee. Over 26 million people relocated forclimate reasons in2008-2015 alone, according toUNHCR. While the majority ofthem moved insidetheir home country, they may eventually cross borders and try their luck elsewhere, preferably incooler and more stable areas, such asScandinavia.

"It is likely that Finland will sooner or later encounter climate refugees," Annu Lehtinen, chief executive officer ofthe Finnish Refugee Aid, told the Finnish daily Hufvudstadsbladet.

"The international community's actions toslow downclimate change affects whether we'll have tocount the climate refugees bythe million inthe coming decades," Lehtinen ventured.

At present, there is no special preparedness forclimate refugees inFinland. The country's Migration Board has not set forth any separate directives onhow asylum applications forclimate refugees are tobe treated. So far, no one has applied forasylum inFinland forreasons ofclimate change either, unlikeDenmark.

However, according toJuha Simil ofthe Finnish Migration Board, climate change has already entered the authority's agenda.

"As forSomalia, forinstance, we have recently updated our guidelines, inorder toput the drought that hit the country intoconsideration," Juha Simil told Hufvudstadsbladet.

According toLehtinen, instead ofrevising the agreements, the international community should focus onfighting climate change and looking foralternative solutions, such asintroducing supplementary legislation.

For Finland itself, climate change may become a mixed blessing. According toa recent report fromthe Finnish National Resources Institute (LUKE), a warmer climate may yield bigger harvests. On the other hand, the risks also increase, aspotential storm damage escalates asis exposure tovarious plant diseases. In the report, Finnish farmers have been advised tohave a closer look atcrops previously considered exotic inorder toadapt toclimate change.

See the article here:
Migrant Crisis Revisited: Cool North to Become Magnet for 'Climate Refugees' - Sputnik International