Jesus is a Climate Refugee

A Primer on the issue of forced climate migration, and a call to people of faith

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When I was out at Hog’s Back Falls in Ottawa, Ontario this past Earth Day, I found myself thinking about climate refugees. I was looking out across the expanse of ancient rock, left behind after the receding of the ice age, 10,000-12,000 years ago, and watching as people of all ages, genders, and from many places were out to enjoy the rush of the falls and warmth of the spring day. Walking on rocks that are ages old, enjoying the sights and sounds with people from all over our beautiful world, I was thinking about the increasing number of people who are being displaced due to the climate crisis, and so many more who are to come. Every year, approximately 23 million people are displaced from their home each year, on average since 2010, due to climate events. This is in addition to the numbers of people displaced for other reasons.

“At the end of 2021, 89.3 million people were displaced worldwide. This number reached the 100 million mark in the first half of 2022 due to the Russian aggression against Ukraine – the highest number ever recorded.”[1]

I wanted to learn more about the situation when I came home, particularly with a thought to writing about how Canada has the capacity to open its doors wider than it already has, that we have the geographical space, institutional resilience, and economic ability to welcome those who are fleeing homes that have become unlivable due to climate events.

As I began doing the research into the situation of climate refugees, I discovered that the dilemma and plight of climate refugees is worse and more complex than I had realized. As I was reading, the phrase ‘Jesus was a refugee’ began to echo in my head. Everywhere I turned, I heard this refrain, ‘Jesus was a refugee.’ This led me to explore further, to discover more about who climate refugees are, and what it means to think of Jesus as a refugee in today’s world of global heating.  

Who is a Climate Refugee?

I have been referring to people who have been displaced from their homes due to climate change, especially climate events such as extreme storms, flooding, and wildfires, as refugees. I am not the only person to do so, by any means. For example, the Environmental Justice Foundation defines climate refugees as:

“persons or groups of person who, for reasons of sudden or progressive climate-related change in the environment that adversely affects their lives or living conditions, are obliged to leave their habitual homes either temporarily or permanently, and who move either within their country or abroad.”[2]

What I discovered in my research, however, is that technically and legally speaking, those who flee their homes due to climate change are not considered refugees. To be a refugee, one has to be fleeing for the following reason(s), as defined in the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees “owing to well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.”

In 1969, this definition was extended, in some situations, to include people “fleeing events seriously disturbing public order.”[3] Although some have begun to argue that climate change events disturb public order, this hasn’t yet led to the inclusion of those fleeing due to climate events.

Jesus Was a Refugee

Although the current definition of a refugee emerged out of the Second World War and its aftermath, it has been used to describe the situation in which Jesus found himself in the early years of his life. According to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus and his parents were forced to flee from Bethlehem, where he was born, and head to Egypt, in order to escape persecution from King Herod (Matthew 2:1-18). It wasn’t until Herod had died that they felt safe to return to Israel and make their home in Nazareth (Matthew 2:19-23).

Jesus Is a Refugee

Many readers of the Gospel of Matthew see a clear correlation between what Jesus and his parents experienced, and the plight of refugees fleeing their homelands today. This connection has been an empowering one for Christians who have suffered, and continue to suffer, from the forced displacement from their homes due to political persecution, war, and conflict. Because in Christianity it is believed that Jesus Christ is present within and among the people of God, especially those who are marginalized, there is a theological interpretation that suggests that Jesus, present in those who have fled in this way, is a refugee.

Because of this, the refrain in my head as I was reading became ‘Jesus is a refugee.’ Jesus is a refugee in the camps in Jordan, Kenya, Bangladesh, Sudan, and elsewhere.[4] He is a refugee today, in the bodies crowded into these camps, and in those who have managed to escape to safer countries around the world.

What About Others who Move?

As I continued my exploration of the issue of people who have had to leave their homes due to climate events, I learned about so many other groups of people who also do not fit in the “refugee” category. These distinctions can be helpful, especially when I reflect on the ways in which different terms have become politically loaded in our divisive time.

I learned that the term migrant does not have a legal definition, but refers to the common understanding of people who move within a country or across borders to another country, for any reason. This includes my son, Justin, who is studying in Italy, and plans to return to Canada after he gets his medical degree. This includes migrant workers, and those who enter a country legally or illegally. My experience has been that this word can have both positive and negative connotations in the public discourse: It can be used pejoratively, to deny the legitimate reasons someone may be fleeing another country, and to accuse them of simply ‘wanting a better life’ in Canada or elsewhere, as though that wasn’t a legitimate reason to move. I have also seen the term used positively, but in a way that places refugees in a negative light. It can be seen to be better to be perceived as a migrant, rather than a refugee; I saw this debate play out early in the Russian aggression against Ukraine, when many countries opened their doors to accept Ukrainians fleeing the war. Clearly, however, Ukrainians fleeing the war fit within the definition of refugee.

The term internally displaced persons (IDP) is common in the literature, too. This refers to people displaced within their own countries, whether due to war, political instability, or climate change. This, in fact, is the most common category for people fleeing their homes due to climate change, which I will return to in a bit. This term has a clearer emphasis on the forced nature of such displacement; IDPs do not want to leave their homes, but feel compelled to in order to keep themselves and their families safe. In this case, they are similar to refugees, albeit in their own lands.

Asylum seekers are those people who have left their countries and are seeking protection from persecution and serious human rights violations. They have not yet been legally recognized as a refugee. Seeking asylum is a human right.

Jesus was an asylum seeker who became a refugee. He is a refugee.

The Climate Crisis: What’s in a Name?

Reflecting on these varying definitions brings me to a question. Does it really matter whether we call people who are fleeing their homes due to climate change refugees, or something else?

The bottom line, I found out, is that yes, it does matter. Currently, there is no legal definition to describe people who are forced to flee their homes as a result of climate change. Thus, there are no current legal protections for those who are forced to leave, and there is difficulty in compiling official data on just how high the numbers of people fleeing due to climate events. Thus, they have been described by the World Economic Forum as the “world’s forgotten victims” of climate change. They tend to be overlooked in debates about the needs of refugees and the responsibilities of countries to offer asylum, as well as in discussions regarding climate change adaptation, mitigation, and funding requirements.

There is a debate over what to call these forgotten victims, including real resistance to amending the definition of ‘refugee’ to include those forced to flee as a result of the changing climate. I won’t get into that debate here, but simply present two definitions that have been suggested.

The first comes from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) suggests that we refer to those displaced as a result or climate change as “persons displaced in the context of disasters and climate change.” I have to admit that I don’t think that has an easy ring or zing to it; it doesn’t really “preach.”

The second definition is offered by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which prefers the term “forced climate migrant” in its literature. ‘Forced climate migrant’ is helpful, because it highlights several key realities for those fleeing due to climate change:

·         They do not want to leave their homes. They have no choice, if they want to be able to have secure shelter, food, and water for themselves and their families;

·         The moves are as a result of climate change, even as that often mixes in with other realities. Climate change has been a major factor in war and violent conflict in many countries, where it is considered a ‘threat multiplier’; and

·         As I stated above, most displacement is happening within the borders of their home countries. The term ‘migrant’ gets at that more accurately than ‘refugee’ does. People are fleeing into urban centers, which causes a significant strain on the resources and institutional capacity of these centers to adapt.

A Few Numbers

To move us out of the academic realm of definitions and terms, and back to the very real people who are suffering as forgotten victims of climate change, let me offer a few numbers of who has been impacted:

·         In 2015 85% of people were displaced by sudden onset climate disasters in South and East Asia. “For example, flooding in the southern Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh caused 1.8 million people to be displaced…”[5]

·         33 million people were displaced in Pakistan as a result of the flooding in June 2022.[6]

·         The desertification of farming land in Syria between 2006 and 2010 led to 1.5 million rural workers moving to the city; this exacerbated political tensions and played a role in the conflict in that country.[7]

Millions of people are being displaced due to climate change, whether due to sudden onset events, like storms, flooding, and forest fires, or due to slow onset factors such as sea-level rise, desertification, increasing water scarcity, and food insecurity. These numbers are only due to go up, estimated to reach as much as 1.2 billion forced climate migrants by 2050. Most of these people will be from the global South, those who are least responsible for climate change but most vulnerable to its effects. They will be in countries in which there is the least amount of capacity to adapt to or mitigate global heating, and will suffer from the combined factors that come into play with mass migration, including rising levels of violence and oppression, especially among the most vulnerable, such as women and children.

Jesus is a Climate Refugee

As people of faith, we are taught to look for and recognize the face of Jesus Christ in the poor and marginalized around us, and to respond, with love, compassion, mercy, and justice, to them. In the Gospel of Matthew we hear Jesus say:

“Truly I tell you, just as you did to one of the least of these who are members of my family, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).

When I think of the 23 million people who are currently displaced every year, I think of this verse, and I hear the refrain: Jesus is a refugee.

Jesus was a refugee in his time, forcibly displaced because of the threat of persecution by Herod. Jesus is a refugee today, in the faces of those in camps around the world; at the borders of Canada, the US, and elsewhere seeking asylum; and in those internally displaced within their own countries. And, I am convinced, that Jesus is a climate refugee, today. Whether we call them forced climate migrants, ‘persons displaced in the context of disasters and climate change,’ or choose to use climate refugee for its emotive and visual impact, Jesus is present in and among the many millions who have found their homes unlivable due to the climate crisis. Jesus is present in and among the many more who will be forced to leave as global heating continues to rise.

Back To Where I Started

This brings me, then, back to where I started a few weeks ago, when I was walking on ancient rocks in beautiful sunshine, thinking of all those who may seek to come to Canada, to find a more livable place for them and their families in this heating world. I did other research, too, and although Canada is also feeling the negative impacts of climate change, we have a more temperate climate to begin with, and so have more capacity to withstand global heating for longer (although let’s be clear: if we reach 3°C or higher, nowhere will be livable). We have the institutional capacity to adapt and welcome those who come seeking safe shelter from the heat and the storms, from the deserts and droughts that are developing. And we have the space, lots of space, to host and welcome people into this place.  There is also literature that highlights the many benefits that countries like Canada and the US can gain from opening our doors and hearts in those who are fleeing.[8]

Christian churches have had a long tradition of welcoming and supporting refugees to Canada and elsewhere. My hope is that we can build on this, regardless of what legal definitions are used, to support and welcome climate refugees, forced climate migrants, into Canada. As Christians, we can ensure that the forgotten victims of climate change are forgotten no longer. We can ensure that they find secure shelter, food and water. We can also ensure that support is offered to those countries with mass migration within their borders as they seek to rehouse forced climate migrants and adapt to global heating.

Jesus is a refugee. Today, he is also a climate refugee. Jesus is present in and among the rising numbers of forced climate migrants, here and around the world. Let us welcome these people into our homes and into our hearts, and in so doing, welcome Jesus.  

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[1] https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/what/humanitarian-aid/forced-displacement-refugees-asylum-seekers-and-internally-displaced-persons-idps_en. Accessed May 2, 2023.

[2] https://ejfoundation.org/what-we-do/climate/protecting-climate-refugees?gclid=CjwKCAjw0ZiiBhBKEiwA4PT9zzjHZNPpCcmoRMR7NlPXZjUlYP2kMq2p-PueS9SxzaegkshlJrRBvhoC6cYQAvD_BwE. Accessed April 28, 2023.

[3] https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b36018.html. Accessed May 2, 2023.

[4] https://www.unrefugees.org/news/inside-the-world-s-five-largest-refugee-camps/. Accessed May 2, 2023.

[5] https://www.unhcr.org/uk/news/stories/frequently-asked-questions-climate-change-and-disaster-displacement. Accessed April 28, 2023.

[6] https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16092022/pakistan-flood-displacement/ Accessed May 2, 2023.

[7] https://www.zurich.com/en/media/magazine/2022/there-could-be-1-2-billion-climate-refugees-by-2050-here-s-what-you-need-to-know#:~:text=And%20as%20the%20threat%20of,and%20extreme%20temperatures%20%E2%80%93%20since%202008. Accessed April 28, 2023.

[8] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/07/23/magazine/climate-migration.html. Accessed April 28, 2023.