China and the World’s Largest Climate Migration Program

As discussed in this article, China is in the process of carrying out an “eco-migration” in which millions of people are being removed from rural parts of the country where avalanches have ruined rice paddies, the soil has become degraded from over-farming, the cost of providing infrastructure has become too high, or the land is needed for pipelines and dams.  But in addition, each year the most pressing issue is that the people in these villages are experiencing the brunt of  global warming in the form of drought and desertification.

Over the course of the coming decades, enormous numbers of people will find themselves “climate refugees,” forced to flee from their homes in order to escape the ravages of climate change: rising sea levels and flooding, super-strength hurricanes, food shortages, and massive wildfires.  If China can make this happen in an orderly and humane way, that’s probably for the best.

But let’s not sugar-coat this.  From the article: “Resettlement doesn’t always have great outcomes for people in terms of their economic fortunes, which have been very tied to their land,” said Sam Geall, acting chief executive officer of China Dialogue and associate fellow at Chatham House who focuses on climate policy. “They often end up in the informal economy after a breakdown of traditional community structures.”

It’s good that climate spending is a key element of the infrastructure bill that is on the floor of the U.S. Senate.  Whether or not it will make a dent in the problem is anyone’s guess.