This September, the Bahamas were slammed by Category 5 Hurricane Dorian, killing at least 43 people and leaving over 70,000 Bahamians homeless. Just a little over two years ago, Puerto Rico was hit by Category 5 Hurricane Maria, killing 3,000 people and leaving over $90 million in property destruction. Just this month, hundreds of thousands of people in Kenya, Somalia, and South Sudan have been displaced due to record-breaking flooding.

As our planet continues to warm and sea levels rise, climate scientists at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change have given us about a decade to curb global warming from increasing by 1.5 degrees Celsius. What’s more, we know that low income communities and communities of color around the world are more directly and drastically impacted by climate change, despite having little or no responsibility for causing the problem.

Our government must create pathways for frontline communities to safely migrate to this country.

Instead of turning away “climate refugees” fleeing unimaginable circumstances globally, U.S. officials must support these communities. Fortunately, lawmakers who see the strong connection between migration and the climate crisis have introduced S. 2565 and H.R. 4732 to support directly-impacted communities.

If passed, the House bill will provide formal legal protections to climate-displaced people (currently, there are none), and the Senate bill will establish a global climate resiliency strategy to provide humanitarian aid and relocation services to communities displaced by climate-related disasters as part of the national Green New Deal conversation. We need lawmakers to support visionary efforts to protect and support the estimated 50 million to 1 billion people come 2050 who will be displaced by climate-exacerbated disasters.

Sign the petition to demand bold, long-term solutions that support migrant families displaced by climate change.

Participating Organizations:
ActionAid USA
CCAN Action Fund
Climate Hawks Vote
Daily Kos
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