The Current

The Climate Migrants: The Current for Nov. 4, 2021

Today on The Current: How climate change is driving migration, as people around the world face threats to their homes, livelihoods and food supplies
Matt Galloway is the host of CBC Radio's The Current. (CBC)

Full Episode Transcript

Today on The Current:

We examine how climate change is driving migration, as people around the world face threats to their homes, livelihoods and food supplies. 

We start in Bangladesh, where efforts are well underway to support thousands displaced by climate change every year. Matt Galloway talks to Saleemul Huq, the director of the International Centre for Climate Change and Development in Bangladesh; and Amiera Sawas, the director of programmes and research at Climate Outreach.

Then, people in Madagascar are facing what the UN's food aid agency has called the world's first climate-induced famine. We talk to Tsina Endor, the deputy director of the NGO SEED Madagascar, about the dire situation. We also hear about how farmers across Africa are trying to adapt to a changing climate, from Anita Sutha, a Ghanaian farmer; and Agnes Kalibata, the president of the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa.

Plus, we meet a farmer in Burkina Faso who raps about climate change. Art Melody sees its impact as he works his farm — and he hopes that making music about it will help create awareness and action. 

And Canada doesn't currently recognize climate change as a reason to apply for asylum, something some advocates say will have to change as climate change drives more migration and displacement. We talk to Blake Davis, the operations director at Global Response Management; Warda Shazadi Meighen, a partner at Landings Law and an adjunct professor of Refugee Law at the University of Toronto; and Amali Tower, the founder and executive director of Climate Refugees.