Out of the frying planet and into the fire: Stories from the frontlines of climate-driven migration

As global temperatures and sea-levels rise, so to does the frequency of climate-driven migration. The search for a safe, healthy, and prosperous place to live has been a feature of humanity since time immemorial...but an increasingly polarized and toxic global discourse sees migrants being increasingly demonized, which makes it hard to have much-needed conversations around the issue. For many migrants of the climate crisis, cities are the end destination, which means that our urban centres need to be prepared for these new realities by adapting infrastructure, services, and policies to create healthy and resilient environments for all residents - old, and new. It’s way past time to open up the conversation.

Image credit: Jody Foster

Featured guests:

Spencer Coyne, Mayor of Princeton, BC, Canada.

Jazmin Burgess, Director, Inclusive Climate Action; Giovanni Pagani, Senior Manager, Climate and Migration; and Claudia Huerta, Senior Manager for City Diplomacy and Campaigns, Climate and Migration.

Links: 

Simon Kofe’s speech to COP26 - New Scientist (Video)

Why cities must prepare for climate migration - C40 Knowledge Hub

The far right is weaponizing climate change to argue against immigration - Vox

Flooded Princeton, B.C., faces days without heat, says mayor - CBC News (Video)

$1.7 billion flood projects still stalled in Abbotsford, Princeton and Merritt - Vancouver Sun

Future urban landscapes: Climate migration projections in cities - C40 Knowledge Hub

C40-MMC Global Mayors Task Force on Climate and Migration - C40

The ‘Climate Migration’ Narrative Is Inaccurate, Harmful, and Pervasive. We Need an Alternative - Centre for Global Development

If you want to learn more about the Journal of City Climate Policy and Economy, please visit our website: https://jccpe.utpjournals.press/

Cities 1.5 is produced by the University of Toronto Press and Cities 1.5 is supported by C40 Cities and the C40 Centre for City Climate Policy and Economy. You can sign up to the Centre newsletter here. https://thecentre.substack.com/

Our executive producers are Calli Elipoulos and Peggy Whitfield.

Produced by Jess Schmidt: https://jessdoespodcasting.com/

Edited by Morgane Chambrin: https://www.morganechambrin.com/

Music is by Lorna Gilfedder: https://origamipodcastservices.com/