Devastating climate change could lead to 1m migrants a year entering EU by 2100
Climate change will drive a huge increase in the number of migrants seeking asylum in Europe if current trends continue, according to a new study.
The number of migrants attempting to settle in Europe each year will triple by the end of the century based on current climate trends alone, independent of other political and economic factors, according to the research. Even if efforts to curb global warming are successful, the number of applications for asylum could rise by a quarter, the authors predict.
Wolfram Schlenker, professor at the school of international and public affairs at Columbia University in New York, and lead author of the study, said: “Europe will see increasing numbers of desperate people fleeing their home countries.”
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