Diwigdi Valiente, a member of the Guna Yala people, shares how climate change is forcing communities to evacuate in Panama. The podcast discusses the impact of rising sea levels on British coastal communities, the significance of forests for the Gunna people, and the challenges faced by insurance companies in providing coverage for high-risk areas. The importance of proactive planning and multinational cooperation in tackling climate change is highlighted.
Climate displacement due to extreme weather events is a growing issue, leading to the evacuation of whole communities.
Proactive planning and managed retreat are essential to address climate disasters and avoid mass displacement of people in the future.
Deep dives
Increasing frequency of extreme climate events
The podcast discusses the recent summer of extreme climate events, such as heat waves, fires, and floods, and how these events are likely to increase in frequency and intensity due to climate change. The podcast highlights that last year alone, 32.6 million people were displaced by disasters, indicating that more people will have to move for safety as the world gets hotter.
Climate displacement and the impact on communities
The podcast explores the experiences of communities affected by climate displacement, from tropical island populations already evacuating to coastal communities threatened by rising sea levels. It emphasizes the challenges faced by those caught up in climate disasters, including the physical and emotional toll of evacuation, the loss of homes, communities, and lifescapes, and the difficulty of rebuilding after the destruction. It also highlights the global impact of climate displacement on indigenous people and the need for multinational cooperation to find sustainable solutions.
Managed retreat and planning for the future
The podcast discusses the importance of proactive planning and managed retreat as a response to climate disasters. It emphasizes the need for communities and policymakers to make difficult decisions about whether to rebuild in vulnerable areas or retreat to safer locations in the face of rising sea levels, coastal erosion, and other climate-related risks. The podcast stresses the necessity of long-term thinking, cooperation, and transparency in order to ensure dignified relocation, preserve culture and traditions, and avoid the displacement of millions of people as climate migrants in the future.
Extreme weather is forcing communities to leave their homes and it's becoming a bigger and bigger issue. What can we do about it?
In this edition of BBC Inside Science, Gaia Vince and her guests discuss what climate displacement means for people all over the world. We hear from Diwigdi Valiente, a member of the Guna Yala people of the San Blas Islands in Panama, where whole communities have already begun to evacuate. Closer to home the experts consider the impact of rising sea levels on British coastal communities.
Guests are:
Richard Betts, head of climate impacts at the UK Met Office and a professor at the University of Exeter;
Lucy Easthope, professor in practice of risk and hazard at the University of Durham and a leading adviser on emergency planning and disaster recovery;
Professor Guillermo Rein, an expert in fire science at Imperial College London; and
Michael Szoenyi, head of flood resilience at Zurich Insurance. He explains why climate change has become such an important factor for business and individuals planning for the future – and why it’s essential we don’t leave big decisions about where we should live to the last minute.
Presenter: Gaia Vince
Producer: Clem Hitchcock
Content Producer: Alice Lipscombe-Southwell
Editor: Richard Collings
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