ASI at the Symposium on Climate Displacement, Migration, and Relocation

Hawai’i is an amazing place. Really. I was so honored to be able to present an update on the developing global governance of climate displacement in Honolulu two weeks ago. Our planet it in danger, but we are as well. What makes this issue urgent is that while the UNFCCC has been working on global carbon regulations for 20+ years, we don’t have enough progress to NOT be impacted by large-scale change. These changes are usually discussed in terms of the natural environment, but they will and already are affecting our human ecology and settlements. While I have had the privilege of spending extended amounts of time in vulnerable areas, many of the speakers are natives of such places such as Alaska, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and Louisiana. They see the deterioration of their homes and livelihoods as it is happening while the world tip-toes lightly around solutions they need now.

The Symposium highlighted the immediacy of climate displacement as well as our challenges ahead. Rebuilding a city or even a village is a daunting task- especially because of our shared human sense of ‘home’. We are tied to place, as well as each other, and the environments we grow up in have meaning. Please click here to watch the proceedings.  

I cannot say enough about the fantastic panelists and WH Council on Environmental Quality’s staff and organization. Mahalo and thank you to all involved. You have further broadened my horizons and I hope to be able to work with you all toward the just and equitable solutions that are essential for the future.