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World Bank report says 48 Million could be displaced in the Pacific by 2050

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Source: Honolulu Civil Beat

Honolulu, HAWAII — The World Bank’s second Groundswell report estimates 216 million people could be displaced by 2050, across six regions, due to climate change.

A newly released World Bank report has predicted climate change could displace 48.4 million in the Pacific and East Asia by 2050.

Water scarcity, decreased agricultural productivity, sea level rise and land loss, extreme weather events and heat stress would be the main drivers forcing people to migrate.

It is the second part of the World Bank’s Groundswell report, first released in 2018, and it estimates that globally 216 million people will be forced to move due to climate change if action is not taken.

Pacific nations and territories are experiencing the realities of climate change already, such as increasing extremes in year-to-year El Niño and La Niña weather patterns, which can lead to droughts and water scarcity.

Climate-driven migration could be reduced by up to 80% if countries were to reduce greenhouse gases emissions, address gaps in development, restore ecosystems and build on ways to adapt to the realities of a changing climate.  If not, “hotspots” for climate migration would being to appear within the next decade.

Read more of the story by reporter Thomas Heaton at Civil Beat