Jay Inslee Is Actually Taking the Climate Refugee Crisis Seriously

[ancianita]

In a future where storms are more powerful and entire communities are destroyed, people are going to need somewhere to go. They’re gonna need new homes—and a leader willing to let them in.

Washington State governor and White House hopeful Jay Inslee might be that leader. This week, Inslee became the first U.S. presidential candidate to include immigration policy in a formal climate plan. Released Wednesday, the Global Climate Mobilization Plan details his international policy approach to climate change, including how climate change is exacerbating the world’s refugee crisis and will continue to do so.

It’s right in line with Inslee’s $9 trillion climate plan to transform the U.S. economy to one revolved around clean energy and equity. He wants to make sure the U.S. isn’t the only one that makes it out of this mess in one piece. And less developed countries are even more vulnerable.

Inslee wants us to face that reality head-on. In his 50-page plan, the Washington governor lays out specific strategies for how to help climate refugees including increasing annual refugee admissions to 110,000, withdrawing U.S. military personnel from the border, reinstating temporary protected status to immigrants from Haiti and El Salvador, launching a refugee resettlement program, and more. His plan places a specific emphasis on countries in the Northern Triangle—Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador—by providing $450 million in funding to help them tackle poverty, education, and agriculture.

While the new plan mentions national security, it isn’t a plan meant to protect the United States per se, but vulnerable communities around the world. Whether you support Inslee or not, you gotta give the man credit for that. It’s easy to sell something on the premise that it’s good for the U.S.; it’s harder to sell it on the premise that it’s good for, well, outsiders.

“To have U.S. politicians recognize linkages between climate change and immigration is a necessary step forward, as effective policy solutions can’t be developed absent an accurate understanding of the reasons why people migrate,” said Michelle Mittelstadt, the communications director for the Migration Policy Institute

But it’s way too soon to speculate on that as the polls show less than 1 percent of voters have their eyes set on him. And other Democratic candidates like Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden have released their own climate plans, too.

Now, how about that climate debate to hear what they all got to say?

https://earther.gizmodo.com/jay-inslee-is-actually-taking-the-climate-refugee-crisi-1835293779?fbclid=IwAR3t4A9enfjaPkAfgMCnLgPvMxYrauXObFVMDdO7ZMdVSwcZErNH31F9mvI

[Dorn]

1. I take the Climate Refugee Crisis Seriously / there will be refugees with the US too

[ancianita]

3. Yes, thousands are already on our border from the northern triangle in Guatamala, El Salvador and

Honduras.

From The Guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/apr/06/us-mexico-immigration-climate-change-migration

Yes, today’s Central American migrants – most of them asylum seekers fearing for their lives – are fleeing gangs, deep economic instability (if not abject poverty), and either neglect or outright persecution at the hands of their government. But these things are all complicated and further compounded by the fact that the northern triangle of Central America – a region comprising Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, and the largest sources of asylum seekers crossing our border in recent years – is deeply affected by environmental degradation and the impacts of a changing global climate.

Since early 2018, hundreds of thousands of deported at the Southern border were climate change migrants.

[elfin]

2. As we all should

Gov. Inslee probably will not make it much further, but I dearly hope whoever wins the nomination AND the election that they are smart enough to choose him for a cabinet pst devoted to this topic.

Making this the centerpiece will help the economy as well as all the humanitarian issues that stem from millions of displaced peoples all over the world.

[ancianita]

5. I hope so, too. I'm anxious. I have children & grandchildren who I don't want our leaders to

passively kill from denial, neglect, stupidity, incompetence because of politics, or Big Oil money, or the racism of white nationalism.

We all have children and grandchildren who are going to suffer from decreased life quality over the disaster cleanup costs that come from doing nothing. Techies and billionaires alone cannot de-acidify the dying oceans or soil, or de-carbonize the atmosphere fast enough.

I want the next president to believe in science and a climate change manhattan project, and I want Jay in his/her cabinet.

In the meantime, no other candidate is showing this much commitment to saving our American humans, nevermind any of our neighbors.

[sprinkleeninow]

12. I'm with you on Inslee being drafted for an environmental/climate crisis

position. I am so very fond of everything about him.

[List left]

4. I really want Inslee to make it to the debates.

Movements start from the bottom up but a lot of behavior and attitudes are modeled from the top down. we need someone who is a great role model and will take on the tough issues with out hesitation.

I don't think there is any way he can win but he can play a crucial role in bring the climate crisis to center stage.

The DNC once again have their heads in a hole.

[ancianita]

6. Knowing that a whole state voted for him, maybe the country will take a harder look. We'll see.

Right now, he's both campaigning and governing, so there's that.

[KT2000]

7. Children of Men

The video of this movie had a bonus that featured social scientists and their view of the future. Climate refugees were predicted as well as higher, stronger walls. They were spot on.

Inslee must be given the chance to address this.

[ancianita]

8. Thanks. Didn't that come out over ten years ago? I know I saw it and the commentary, but

don't remember anything related to climate.

I hope we do a lot better by fellow humans than that apocalyptic vision suggests.

[zentrum]

9. He gets it.

[Indygram]

10. Beto's been saying the same thing for as long as I've been watching his town halls

So at least some of them are talking about the issue.

[ancianita]

11. What does he say? Does he mention that every TX rep and senator gets donor money from Big Gas & Oil?

Did he say he's gotten $557,701 from Big Gas & Oil?

Take a look at TX and Congress in general.

https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/summary.php?ind=E01&cycle=2018&recipdetail=H&mem=Y

[LAS14]

13. K & R

[oasis]

14. Wake up America! Climate change must be addresed right now.