Climate change is flight motive

Over the past week, there has been much talk about the exploratory talks between VVD, CDA, D66 and GroenLinks clapping once again. Klaver was said to have gone too far. He would have been too principled on refugee policy and not cared enough about "everything" he could achieve on sustainability. Apart from the fact that the latter remained to be seen - a truly greening policy had never come about with CDA and VVD - it is also a fallacy to pull the two problems apart so much.

Europe is increasingly facing a still unknown group of refugees: climate refugees. These are people who face severe heat, drought or other unlivable conditions in their home countries due to climate change. This leaves them unable to earn a living and rising temperatures create instability, leading to conflict. Unfortunately, climate change does not count as a flight motive in the Netherlands. Climate refugees would not be refugees, but economic migrants. They are sent back without pardon because their reason for fleeing is 'merely' economic.

Climate change and refugee flows cannot be separated. Global warming affects living conditions in such a direct way that it is time to expand the definition of refugee. In Syria, Pakistan and Mali, political tensions have risen so high because of enormous heat or periods of drought. In Ethiopia, the same heat once again caused widespread crop failures last season. According to United Nations calculations, one in 30 people will be climate refugees by the middle of this century. We must and can prevent these 200 million people from having to leave their homelands by 2050 because of unlivable conditions. Are you an economic migrant if you try to build a better life in Europe after years of drought and crop failure? Are you an economic migrant if your land is under water due to rising sea levels? Are you an economic migrant if you leave your children behind to provide for them from a distance? If the answer to that question is 'yes', it is high time to welcome economic refugees with open arms as well. But we argue for a second way: take climate change seriously as a flight motive.

Today is world refugee day. We call for a reflection on climate refugees today. That word should be widely known and accepted not only in our speech, but also in our legislation and asylum policy. We welcome a parent party that will not separate the complex issues of migration and climate change. Fortunately, GroenLinks understands that you cannot commit to greening without social policies or to sustainability without humane policies. Now for the rest.