Climate Conference 2023 Takeaways
Takeaways from Loyola’s 2023 Climate Change Conference
Steve Bynum (left) moderated a panel discussion during the 2023 Climate Change Conference.
Story by Alex Quebbeman, Photos by Jorge Haddad
Today an estimated 100 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide, and that number is likely to rise dramatically in the next 30 years. The Institute for Economics and Peace predicts that roughly one billion will be displaced by 2050 due to environmental change and conflict, leaving people without steady sources of food, water, or shelter. Climate migration is already happening within nations and across borders, with the biggest cross-border migration trends occurring in Africa and the Americas.
On March 16, 2023, Loyola’s annual Climate Change Conference examined how climate change impacts global human migration. Nearly 300 people gathered on campus for the event, and almost 400 tuned in virtually. Steve Bynum of Chicago Public Media served as the moderator, and the audience heard from a keynote speaker and three expert panelists.
Pictured from left to right: Steve Bynum, Shelly Culbertson, Fr. Tom Smolich, Dean Nancy Tuchman, and Michael Nash
Filmmaker Michael Nash delivered the conference’s keynote presentation, discussing what he learned while working on his award-winning film Climate Refugees. Nash said when he came up with the idea for the film, he aimed to discover and share the human face of climate change.
He and his crew traveled the world, visiting 48 countries to document the lives of people displaced by climate-driven disasters. In his travels, Nash saw that climate-driven natural disasters disproportionately affect women, children, and those living in poverty. He witnessed the lives of people forced to relocate, which involved leaving their homes--and often their cultures--behind.
Nash shared a film clip of an interview with a man from the smallest UN-recognized nation in the world, Tuvalu. Located more than 2,000 miles west of Papua New Guinea in the Pacific Ocean, Tuvalu consists of nine small islands at serious risk of vanishing beneath rising seas. Siaosi Finiki, the Tuvalu citizen, shared a simple and important message. “Think of us because we are human.”
Panelist Yves Umuhoza (on the screen) participated remotely from Italy.
Following the keynote presentation, panelist Yves Umuhoza shared his experiences as a Burundian refugee and eco-entrepreneur. He grew up in the Tongogara Refugee Camp in Zimbabwe and Harare, Zimbabwe. Umuhoza explained that young people in refugee camps typically lack access to education, financial aid, and other crucial forms of support. Also, as it is in most countries, refugees in Zimbabwe are not permitted to work outside their camps. These limitations make it extremely difficult for refugees to pursue careers and improve their situations.
Despite these challenges, Umuhoza led a solar energy project in Tongogara Refugee Camp, founding a refugee-youth-led organization called Assorted Energies International (AEI). He is now pursuing a master’s degree in energy and nuclear engineering in Torino, Italy, and he continues his work as AEI’s CEO and chief engineer. Umuhoza stressed that the world could support refugees by improving access to education, finances, and opportunities to launch and scale up businesses.
Fr. Tom Smolich, the second panelist, shared his perspective as the international director of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), the only global ministry in the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). JRS approaches refugee crises through human, pedagogical, and spiritual lenses, as Fr. Pedro Arrupe outlined 40 years ago. The organization is currently serving almost one million refugees across 57 countries. From caring for communities and the Earth to strengthening advocacy networks and adaptation techniques, JRS does vital work directly related to Loyola’s mission as a Jesuit institution.
Shelly Culbertson spoke third. Culbertson is the associate director of the Disaster Management and Resilience Program at the RAND Corporation. As a researcher and international policy expert, Culbertson had a critical perspective on policy and post-disaster recovery. “All forms of migration intersect in complex ways,” she said. “It’s an interaction of violence, vulnerability, poverty, and human decisions. Massive population growth in combination with poor urban planning and lack of investment in agricultural resilience impacts climate-related migration.”
Culbertson believes that the current international climate migration policies cannot handle what the future holds. Unlike refugees fleeing conflict and persecution, climate migrants do not typically qualify for refugee status under international law, meaning their legal and human rights are not secure. However, because the systems that handle refugees are already overburdened, Culbertson thinks there are better solutions to address the expected surge in climate migrants. She outlined five essential steps that leaders need to focus on:
- Reducing the impact of climate-driven disasters.
- Developing national and international frameworks for managing migration.
- Targeting U.S. global leadership and foreign assistance.
- Improving migration processes and pathways.
- Gathering better data about migration.
Another solution Fr. Smolich suggested is providing a work permit to every refugee. “I think this would be the thing that changes and liberates so many people in this situation. It would enable people to have a legal livelihood, making a real difference in giving people stability,” Fr. Smolich said. Culbertson added, “If we could design something that doesn’t trap people in camps and dependency for years but allows them to integrate and support themselves, that would be a much better system. Allowing migrants to get a job, go to school, and rent a house would be more helpful than trying to push them through failing legal systems.”
Another way to improve the lives of refugees is by elevating their voices. “There is a need for refugees to be at the center of decision-making. If we look at the actual work being implemented within refugee settlements by outside powers, there is often no accountability. The inclusion of refugees is paramount, yet is still very limited,” Umuhoza said.
An overall takeaway from the conference was that mass climate migration is inevitable, but we have the chance to mitigate the challenge that refugees face. Globally, leaders can prepare for the future of climate migration by listening to refugees, improving migration policies, increasing refugee autonomy, and removing barriers that prevent refugees from realizing their full potential and contributing to their communities.
Click here to view a video of the full conference on our YouTube channel.
Story by Alex Quebbeman, Photos by Jorge Haddad
Today an estimated 100 million people are forcibly displaced worldwide, and that number is likely to rise dramatically in the next 30 years. The Institute for Economics and Peace predicts that roughly one billion will be displaced by 2050 due to environmental change and conflict, leaving people without steady sources of food, water, or shelter. Climate migration is already happening within nations and across borders, with the biggest cross-border migration trends occurring in Africa and the Americas.
On March 16, 2023, Loyola’s annual Climate Change Conference examined how climate change impacts global human migration. Nearly 300 people gathered on campus for the event, and almost 400 tuned in virtually. Steve Bynum of Chicago Public Media served as the moderator, and the audience heard from a keynote speaker and three expert panelists.
Filmmaker Michael Nash delivered the conference’s keynote presentation, discussing what he learned while working on his award-winning film Climate Refugees. Nash said when he came up with the idea for the film, he aimed to discover and share the human face of climate change.
He and his crew traveled the world, visiting 48 countries to document the lives of people displaced by climate-driven disasters. In his travels, Nash saw that climate-driven natural disasters disproportionately affect women, children, and those living in poverty. He witnessed the lives of people forced to relocate, which involved leaving their homes--and often their cultures--behind.
Nash shared a film clip of an interview with a man from the smallest UN-recognized nation in the world, Tuvalu. Located more than 2,000 miles west of Papua New Guinea in the Pacific Ocean, Tuvalu consists of nine small islands at serious risk of vanishing beneath rising seas. Siaosi Finiki, the Tuvalu citizen, shared a simple and important message. “Think of us because we are human.”
Following the keynote presentation, panelist Yves Umuhoza shared his experiences as a Burundian refugee and eco-entrepreneur. He grew up in the Tongogara Refugee Camp in Zimbabwe and Harare, Zimbabwe. Umuhoza explained that young people in refugee camps typically lack access to education, financial aid, and other crucial forms of support. Also, as it is in most countries, refugees in Zimbabwe are not permitted to work outside their camps. These limitations make it extremely difficult for refugees to pursue careers and improve their situations.
Despite these challenges, Umuhoza led a solar energy project in Tongogara Refugee Camp, founding a refugee-youth-led organization called Assorted Energies International (AEI). He is now pursuing a master’s degree in energy and nuclear engineering in Torino, Italy, and he continues his work as AEI’s CEO and chief engineer. Umuhoza stressed that the world could support refugees by improving access to education, finances, and opportunities to launch and scale up businesses.
Fr. Tom Smolich, the second panelist, shared his perspective as the international director of the Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS), the only global ministry in the Society of Jesus (the Jesuits). JRS approaches refugee crises through human, pedagogical, and spiritual lenses, as Fr. Pedro Arrupe outlined 40 years ago. The organization is currently serving almost one million refugees across 57 countries. From caring for communities and the Earth to strengthening advocacy networks and adaptation techniques, JRS does vital work directly related to Loyola’s mission as a Jesuit institution.
Shelly Culbertson spoke third. Culbertson is the associate director of the Disaster Management and Resilience Program at the RAND Corporation. As a researcher and international policy expert, Culbertson had a critical perspective on policy and post-disaster recovery. “All forms of migration intersect in complex ways,” she said. “It’s an interaction of violence, vulnerability, poverty, and human decisions. Massive population growth in combination with poor urban planning and lack of investment in agricultural resilience impacts climate-related migration.”
Culbertson believes that the current international climate migration policies cannot handle what the future holds. Unlike refugees fleeing conflict and persecution, climate migrants do not typically qualify for refugee status under international law, meaning their legal and human rights are not secure. However, because the systems that handle refugees are already overburdened, Culbertson thinks there are better solutions to address the expected surge in climate migrants. She outlined five essential steps that leaders need to focus on:
- Reducing the impact of climate-driven disasters.
- Developing national and international frameworks for managing migration.
- Targeting U.S. global leadership and foreign assistance.
- Improving migration processes and pathways.
- Gathering better data about migration.
Another solution Fr. Smolich suggested is providing a work permit to every refugee. “I think this would be the thing that changes and liberates so many people in this situation. It would enable people to have a legal livelihood, making a real difference in giving people stability,” Fr. Smolich said. Culbertson added, “If we could design something that doesn’t trap people in camps and dependency for years but allows them to integrate and support themselves, that would be a much better system. Allowing migrants to get a job, go to school, and rent a house would be more helpful than trying to push them through failing legal systems.”
Another way to improve the lives of refugees is by elevating their voices. “There is a need for refugees to be at the center of decision-making. If we look at the actual work being implemented within refugee settlements by outside powers, there is often no accountability. The inclusion of refugees is paramount, yet is still very limited,” Umuhoza said.
An overall takeaway from the conference was that mass climate migration is inevitable, but we have the chance to mitigate the challenge that refugees face. Globally, leaders can prepare for the future of climate migration by listening to refugees, improving migration policies, increasing refugee autonomy, and removing barriers that prevent refugees from realizing their full potential and contributing to their communities.
Click here to view a video of the full conference on our YouTube channel.