Climate change will displace millions. Here's how we prepare
-
0:01 - 0:04It was about two years
after Hurricane Katrina -
0:04 - 0:07that I first saw the Louisiana flood maps.
-
0:08 - 0:11These flood maps are used
to show land loss in the past -
0:11 - 0:14and land loss that is to come.
-
0:14 - 0:17On this particular day,
at a community meeting, -
0:17 - 0:19these maps were used to explain
-
0:19 - 0:23how a 30-foot tidal surge
that accompanied Hurricane Katrina -
0:24 - 0:27could flood communities like mine
in south Louisiana -
0:27 - 0:30and communities across
the Mississippi and Alabama coast. -
0:31 - 0:36It turns out that the land we were losing
was our buffer from the sea. -
0:37 - 0:41I volunteered to interact
with the graphics on the wall, -
0:41 - 0:44and in an instant my life changed
for the second time in two years. -
0:45 - 0:50The graphic showed
massive land loss in south Louisiana -
0:50 - 0:52and an encroaching sea,
-
0:52 - 0:59but more specifically, the graphic showed
the disappearance of my community -
0:59 - 1:02and many other communities
before the end of the century. -
1:03 - 1:06I wasn't alone at the front of the room.
-
1:06 - 1:10I was standing there with other members
of south Louisiana's communities -- -
1:10 - 1:13black, Native, poor.
-
1:14 - 1:18We thought we were just bound
by temporary disaster recovery, -
1:18 - 1:22but we found that we were now bound
by the impossible task -
1:22 - 1:26of ensuring that our communities
would not be erased by sea level rise -
1:26 - 1:28due to climate change.
-
1:29 - 1:34Friends, neighbors, family, my community:
-
1:34 - 1:37I just assumed it would always be there.
-
1:38 - 1:43Land, trees, marsh, bayous:
-
1:43 - 1:47I just assumed that it would be there
as it had been for thousands of years. -
1:47 - 1:48I was wrong.
-
1:50 - 1:53To understand what was happening
to my community, -
1:53 - 1:56I had to talk to other communities
around the globe. -
1:56 - 1:59I started in south Louisiana
with the United Houma Nation. -
1:59 - 2:03I talked to youth advocates
in Shishmaref, Alaska. -
2:03 - 2:07I talked to fisherwomen
in coastal Vietnam, -
2:07 - 2:09justice fighters in Fiji,
-
2:09 - 2:11new generations of leaders
-
2:11 - 2:15in the ancient cultures
of the Torres Straits. -
2:15 - 2:19Communities that had been here
for thousands of years -
2:19 - 2:21were suffering the same fate,
-
2:21 - 2:25and we were all contemplating
how we would survive the next 50. -
2:27 - 2:29By the end of the next century,
-
2:29 - 2:32it's predicted that
more than 180 million people -
2:32 - 2:34will be displaced due to climate change,
-
2:34 - 2:36and in south Louisiana,
-
2:36 - 2:40those who can afford to do so
are already moving. -
2:40 - 2:43They're moving because
south Louisiana is losing land -
2:43 - 2:45at one of the fastest rates on the planet.
-
2:46 - 2:49Disappearance is what my bayou community
-
2:49 - 2:52has in common with
other coastal communities. -
2:53 - 2:57Erasure is what communities
around the globe are fighting -
2:57 - 3:00as we get real about
the impacts of climate change. -
3:01 - 3:05I've spent the last 14 years
advocating on behalf of communities -
3:05 - 3:08that have been directly impacted
by the climate crisis. -
3:08 - 3:10These communities
are fighting discrimination -
3:10 - 3:13within climate disaster recovery,
-
3:13 - 3:17and they're also trying to balance
mass displacement of people -
3:17 - 3:19with an influx of others
-
3:19 - 3:21who see opportunity in starting anew.
-
3:22 - 3:27Since 2005, people
have been called "refugees" -
3:27 - 3:30when they leave when they're displaced
by climate disaster, -
3:30 - 3:35even when they don't cross
international borders. -
3:35 - 3:38These terms, these misused terms,
-
3:38 - 3:41that are meant to identify the other,
-
3:41 - 3:43the victim,
-
3:43 - 3:46the person who is not supposed to be here,
-
3:46 - 3:48these terms are barriers
-
3:48 - 3:50to economic recovery,
-
3:50 - 3:52to social integration
-
3:52 - 3:56and to the healing required from
the climate crisis and climate trauma. -
3:58 - 3:59Words matter.
-
3:59 - 4:02It also matters how we treat
people who are crossing borders. -
4:03 - 4:07We should care about how people
who are crossing borders today -
4:07 - 4:10to seek refuge and safety
are being treated, -
4:10 - 4:14if for no other reason than it might
be you or someone you love -
4:14 - 4:18who needs to exercise
their human right to migrate -
4:18 - 4:19in the nearby future.
-
4:20 - 4:24We must start preparing
for global migration today. -
4:24 - 4:26It's a reality now.
-
4:27 - 4:30Our cities and our communities
are not prepared. -
4:30 - 4:33In fact, our economic system
and our social systems -
4:33 - 4:37are only prepared to make profit
off of people who migrate. -
4:37 - 4:43This will cause rounds
of climate gentrification, -
4:43 - 4:47and it will also penalize
the movement of people, -
4:47 - 4:49usually through exploited labor
-
4:49 - 4:51and usually through criminalization.
-
4:53 - 4:56Climate gentrification that happens
in anticipation of sea level rise -
4:56 - 4:59is what we're seeing in places like Miami,
-
4:59 - 5:02where communities
that were kept from the waterfront -
5:02 - 5:06are now being priced out
of the high ground -
5:06 - 5:08where they were placed originally
-
5:08 - 5:10as people move away from the coast.
-
5:10 - 5:13These folks are being moved,
forced to relocate away -
5:13 - 5:16from the social and economic systems
that they need to survive. -
5:17 - 5:23Climate gentrification also happens
in the aftermath of climate disaster. -
5:24 - 5:26When massive amounts
of people leave a location -
5:26 - 5:28for an indefinite amount of time,
-
5:28 - 5:31we see others come in.
-
5:31 - 5:33We also see climate gentrification happen
-
5:33 - 5:38when damaged homes are now "green built,"
-
5:38 - 5:40but now have a higher value,
-
5:40 - 5:43generally outside of the reach
of black and brown and poor people -
5:43 - 5:44who want to return home.
-
5:46 - 5:50The price difference in rents
or the ownership of a house -
5:50 - 5:54is the difference between
being able to practice your right, -
5:54 - 5:57your human right
to return home as a community, -
5:57 - 6:00or be forced to resettle somewhere else
-
6:00 - 6:02less climate resilient,
-
6:02 - 6:03less expensive
-
6:03 - 6:04and alone.
-
6:05 - 6:09The climate crisis
is a much larger conversation -
6:09 - 6:11than reducing CO2 emissions,
-
6:11 - 6:15and it is a much different conversation
than just extreme weather. -
6:15 - 6:20We're facing a shift
in every aspect of our global reality. -
6:20 - 6:23And climate migration
is just one small part, -
6:23 - 6:25but it's going to have ripple effects
-
6:26 - 6:29in both coastal cities
and cities in the interior. -
6:29 - 6:31So what do we do?
-
6:31 - 6:32I have a few ideas.
-
6:32 - 6:34(Laughter)
-
6:34 - 6:39First, we must reframe
our understanding of the problem. -
6:39 - 6:42Climate change is not the problem.
-
6:42 - 6:46Climate change
is the most horrible symptom -
6:46 - 6:48of an economic system
-
6:48 - 6:50that has been built for a few
-
6:50 - 6:56to extract every precious value
out of this planet and its people, -
6:56 - 6:57from our natural resources
-
6:58 - 7:00to the fruits of our human labor.
-
7:00 - 7:03This system has created this crisis.
-
7:03 - 7:05(Applause)
-
7:08 - 7:12We must have the courage
to admit we've taken too much. -
7:12 - 7:15We cannot close our eyes to the fact
-
7:15 - 7:18that the entire world is paying a price
-
7:18 - 7:24for the privilege and comfort
of just a few people on the planet. -
7:25 - 7:29It's time for us to make
society-wide changes -
7:29 - 7:32to a system that incentivizes consumption
-
7:32 - 7:35to the point of global imbalance.
-
7:35 - 7:40Our social, political and economic
systems of extraction -
7:40 - 7:44must be transformed into systems
that regenerate the earth -
7:44 - 7:47and advance human liberty globally.
-
7:48 - 7:52It is arrogance to think
that technology will save us. -
7:53 - 7:56It is ego to think that we can continue
-
7:56 - 8:00this unjust and extractive approach
to living on this planet -
8:00 - 8:01and survive.
-
8:02 - 8:08(Applause)
-
8:08 - 8:11To survive this next phase
of our human existence, -
8:11 - 8:14we will need to restructure
our social and economic systems -
8:14 - 8:16to develop our collective resilience.
-
8:17 - 8:22The social restructuring must be
towards restoration and repair -
8:22 - 8:24of the earth
-
8:24 - 8:27and the communities
that have been extracted from, -
8:27 - 8:28criminalized
-
8:28 - 8:30and targeted for generations.
-
8:31 - 8:33These are the frontlines.
-
8:33 - 8:35This is where we start.
-
8:36 - 8:40We must establish a new social attitude
to see migration as a benefit, -
8:40 - 8:43a necessity for our global survival,
-
8:43 - 8:46not as a threat
to our individual privilege. -
8:47 - 8:51Collective resilience means developing
cities that can receive people -
8:51 - 8:53and provide housing,
-
8:53 - 8:56food, water, health care
-
8:56 - 8:58and the freedom from overpolicing
-
8:58 - 8:59for everyone,
-
8:59 - 9:01no matter who they are,
-
9:01 - 9:02no matter where they're from.
-
9:04 - 9:08What would it mean if we started
to plan for climate migration now? -
9:09 - 9:13Sprawling cities or declining cities
could see this as an opportunity -
9:13 - 9:18to rebuild a social infrastructure
rooted in justice and fairness. -
9:18 - 9:21We could actually put money
into public hospitals -
9:21 - 9:22and help them prepare
-
9:22 - 9:24for what is to come
through climate migration, -
9:24 - 9:28including the trauma
that comes with loss and relocation. -
9:29 - 9:32We can invest more of our time in justice,
-
9:32 - 9:35but it cannot be for temporary gain,
-
9:35 - 9:37it cannot be to help budget shortfalls,
-
9:37 - 9:39it has to be for long-term change
-
9:39 - 9:42and it has to be to advance justice.
-
9:42 - 9:44It's already possible, y'all.
-
9:44 - 9:46After Hurricane Katrina,
-
9:46 - 9:50universities and high schools
around the US took in students -
9:50 - 9:54to help them finish their semester
or their year without missing a beat. -
9:54 - 9:58Those students are now
productive assets in our community, -
9:58 - 10:01and this is what our communities,
our businesses and our institutions -
10:01 - 10:03need to get ready for now.
-
10:03 - 10:05The time is now.
-
10:06 - 10:10So as we reframe the problem
in a more truthful way -
10:10 - 10:14and we restructure our social systems
in a more just way, -
10:14 - 10:18all that will be left is for us
to reindigenize ourselves -
10:18 - 10:22and to conjure a power
of the most ancient kind. -
10:22 - 10:27This necessarily means
that we must learn to follow -- -
10:27 - 10:32not tokenize, not exotify, not dismiss --
-
10:32 - 10:34the leadership and
the traditional knowledge -
10:34 - 10:36of a particular local place.
-
10:37 - 10:41It means that we must commit
to standards of ecological equity -
10:41 - 10:44and climate justice and human rights
-
10:44 - 10:46as the basis, a base standard,
-
10:46 - 10:47a starting point,
-
10:47 - 10:49for where our new society is to go.
-
10:50 - 10:56All of this requires us to recognize
a power greater than ourselves -
10:56 - 10:59and a life longer
than the ones we will live. -
10:59 - 11:03It requires us to believe in the things
that we are privileged enough -
11:03 - 11:05not to have to see.
-
11:06 - 11:09We must honor the rights of nature.
-
11:09 - 11:13We must advance human rights for all.
-
11:13 - 11:16We must transform from a disposable,
-
11:16 - 11:18individual society
-
11:18 - 11:22into one that sees our collective,
long-term humanity, -
11:22 - 11:24or else we will not make it.
-
11:25 - 11:31We must see that even the best of us
are entangled in an unjust system, -
11:31 - 11:33and we must acknowledge
-
11:33 - 11:36that the only way you're going to survive
-
11:36 - 11:39is for us to figure out
-
11:39 - 11:42how to reach a shared liberation together.
-
11:43 - 11:44The good news is
-
11:44 - 11:46we come from powerful people.
-
11:46 - 11:49We come from those who have,
in one way or another, -
11:49 - 11:53survived so far to be us here today.
-
11:53 - 11:55This is reason enough to fight.
-
11:55 - 11:58And take it from
your south Louisiana friend, -
11:58 - 12:01those hardest fights
are the ones to celebrate. -
12:01 - 12:06Let's choose to make this next phase
of our planetary existence beautiful, -
12:06 - 12:07and while we're at it,
-
12:07 - 12:10let's make it just and fair for everyone.
-
12:11 - 12:13We can do this, y'all.
-
12:13 - 12:14We can do this,
-
12:14 - 12:16because we must.
-
12:16 - 12:19We must, or else we lose our planet
-
12:19 - 12:21and we lose ourselves.
-
12:21 - 12:22The work starts here.
-
12:22 - 12:24The work starts together.
-
12:24 - 12:26This is my offering.
-
12:26 - 12:28Thank you for receiving it. Merci.
-
12:28 - 12:32(Applause)
- Title:
- Climate change will displace millions. Here's how we prepare
- Speaker:
- Colette Pichon Battle
- Description:
-
Scientists predict climate change will displace more than 180 million people by 2100 -- a crisis of "climate migration" the world isn't ready for, says disaster recovery lawyer and Louisiana native Colette Pichon Battle. In this passionate, lyrical talk, she urges us to radically restructure the economic and social systems that are driving climate migration -- and caused it in the first place -- and shares how we can cultivate collective resilience, better prepare before disaster strikes and advance human rights for all.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 12:47
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for Climate change will displace millions. Here's how we prepare | ||
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Joseph Geni edited English subtitles for Climate change will displace millions. Here's how we prepare |