natural disasters happen everyday, all over the world; from droughts and floods to tornadoes and extreme climate changes, this phenomena can greatly disrupt the living conditions for residents in a given region. displacements can happen within nations, but with climate catastrophes experienced in some parts of the world more than others, some may opt to cross national borders. these people are often referred to as climate refugees, and many come from countries experiencing high magnitude climate disasters including afghanistan, pakistan and india.

it’s likely that the population of climate refugees will only continue to rise, with the world bank estimating that nearly 216 million people could be affected by 2050. a key question this raises is, “where do they go?” countries poised to accept climate refugees, like germany, are struggling to define the problem.

research from the european parliamentary research service finds that europe is likely to be one of the regions least affected by climate-related disasters, accounting for only one percent of internal displacements in 2020. south asia accounted for 30 percent that same year. like in other countries, individuals who are displaced as a result of natural disasters do not receive refugee or subsidiary protection in germany at the moment. but as the european parliamentary research service put it, “through its cooperation with the countries affected, the eu can put in place safe legal pathways for climate migrants.”

disputes over the idea of “climate refugee”

from 2014 to 2021 germany accepted more refugees in total than any other eu member state, according to data from eurostat. but the german government in the past has explicitly expressed that climate refugees cannot claim asylum in germany. as a reaction to the united nations human rights committee, which ruled in january 2020 that nations may not deport individuals who are affected by “climate change-induced conditions that violate the right to life,” a spokesperson from the interior ministry said the link between climate change and migration is under-researched. “most studies suggest that environmental changes are triggers for migration decisions, but are not the sole cause,” the spokesperson told deutsche welle.

globally there have been disagreements on who qualifies as a refugee in the first place. the united nations definition of a refugee, which describes them as “people who have fled violence, war, conflict or persecution,” is subject to interpretation by immigration courts across the world. while the united nations is one assembly that has made multiple policy recommendations for increasing protections for refugees in general, individual countries still reserve the right to deny asylum applications. one important international human rights law, european convention on human rights (echr) article 3, which finds that “the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment,” has been used in germany specifically to consider humanitarian conditions in certain nations that may justify flight. 

compounding harms during displacement

“a lot of the challenges we see in relatively stable contexts are then exasperated in a migrant context, whether it’s access to sexual reproductive health or problems with gender based violence,” said maureen mcgowan, ph.d. candidate at the heidelberg institute of global health and researcher with the global health and migration hub. “then with climate coming into that, a big challenge is also things like access to nutritional food or access to water in the immediate moment, but also in the long term.”

echr article 3 was referenced by the german higher administrative court which made a significant ruling banning the deportation of an afghan citizen in december 2020. the court’s primary reasoning was that the covid-19 pandemic has led to a significant decline in the humanitarian conditions in afghanistan. the court explicitly cited environmental conditions, including climate and natural disasters, as relevant factors in assessing the humanitarian conditions in the country. camilla schloss, a judge in the administrative court of berlin, wrote in a blog about how this case might show how courts may have the power to create more avenues for climate refugees outside of the 1951 refugee convention. but some researchers say that climate change cannot be the sole consideration for granting asylum.

“you have to say goodbye to the point of view that climate change is a main reason for migration. this is just one of several factors,” said benjamin schraven, an associate researcher at the german institute of development and sustainability who specializes in environmental change and migration.  in an interview with t-online, he said given the lack of solid evidence that can attribute migration to natural disasters, germany, as well as other countries, may not create legal pathways so easily.

“many forecasts are old and have a weak basis for argumentation. you should be very careful with numbers, even if they are often used in a political context,” said schraven. “what should be changed is that migrants should be able to move in more fair conditions.”

the potential in research

the german advisory council on global change (wbgu) released a policy paper in august 2018 that suggested the creation of a “climate passport” for the implementation of a “just and in-time” climate policy framework in germany. the concept is modeled after the nansen passport for stateless persons, which facilitated the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people seeking asylum following world war i. 

the first objective is to give people from low-lying island nations such as the maldives and kiribati that are at high risk of being affected by climate change similar access and rights to those of citizens in germany. they then propose that in the future, it would be expanded to include refugees from other states that face similar climate-related challenges to create “early, voluntary and dignified migration” options. however, there has been very little note or update on wgbu’s website about any moves from the government to implement this proposal. 

while research options about legal protections for climate refugees is otherwise scant, mcgowan said it is likely one of the tools that will create conversations about potential policy changes. 

“research has that ability to highlight what the gaps are and then policymakers can start looking at what needs to be filled, if it’s relevant or necessary to be filled, and decide where some of those initial priorities should go,” said mcgowan.

urban roots teen environmental justice program is a seasonal employment opportunity offered at garfield park conservatory in chicago to students from al raby high school. participants can learn to be conservatory docents, receive mentorship, and build a better relationship with nature through the program. 

max meyers, youth program coordinator, said that staff are in the process of finalizing participants for the spring session. but in order to make the program as accessible as possible, they try not to turn students away. 

“the number one thing we’re looking for is engagement. like being able to show up physically, emotionally and mentally in that space,” meyers said.

an evolving program for a changing world

when the program was started in 2016, students would give tours during their breaks in school. in 2022, the program shifted to being offered on a semesterly basis and as an after-school program. marqueketa glenn, director of youth education at the conservatory, was hired in march 2022 with the intention of taking the project in a new direction. 

“when i came into this role, i was just thinking how we could make this program less like school, and more geared around the youth’s interests and what they want to learn,” she said. “we still do docent training, but we’ve added the environmental justice component and the mentorship component that we’re still working on, but we’re trying to launch new things,” glenn said.

students learn how to plan and lead tours, maintain their own gardens, identify plants in the conservatory, as well as take field trips to different nature spaces and become engaged with local environmental justice issues. glenn said that the program also collaborates with organizations such as seed your future, which works to promote interest in green careers. 

“as far as green jobs and green education, i think they’re really important, especially right now. when in high school, [students] talk about all the jobs that [they] can have, and it’s usually the same types of jobs every time. ‘i want to be a doctor, i want to be a lawyer, i want to be a teacher.’ we want to give more awareness about what other jobs are out there,” said glenn. 

covid, however, affected some participation in the program, and glenn and meyers said that they are still in the process of trying to rebuild. but the program is the most “in-person” that it has been since the beginning of the pandemic.

“it was a pretty established program. and then covid came and it was totally restructured for remote learning,” said meyers. “since then it’s gone through a number of iterations trying to adapt to the pandemic.”

providing mentorship and guidance for chicago’s youth

the first iteration of the program did, however, keep some alumni around, such as a’shanti johnson, who now works as a program assistant for urban roots after being a participant in 2017. johnson was hired directly from the program as a front desk associate. she later took on the role as program assistant in june of last year.

she said that before being in the program, she had never been to the conservatory. nor had she conserider her potential role in tending to plants. 

“i don’t have a green thumb. if i were to have a plant and try to take care of it, it probably would pass away. but when i grew my garden, i loved it,” johnson said.

now she said that she knows plenty about how plants grow and adapt. as the program assistant she helps to facilitate lesson plans and to coordinate students’ needs. and being with the conservatory for over five years now, she’s able to offer important conservatory expertise to glenn and meyers.

“she has more knowledge about the program than either of us because she was in it and she was here longer. she’s been very helpful in structuring the docent training with the young people,” said glenn.

since johnson is closer in age with urban roots students, she said that she sometimes acts as a bridge between meyers and participants. but johnson still feels the difference between her generation and the younger one, saying that students now tend to be a lot more bold in talking about environmental issues than previous cohorts.

“we knew what was happening in the world. but when we got to the conservatory, it was a safe space where we really didn’t have to focus much on it or actually deal with it,” said johnson. “now it’s still a safe space, but students speak more openly about their pain, and how they feel in that safe space.”

while the program encourages students to pursue green careers, it isn’t the most important program outcome. 

“you don’t have to commit to going into the green industry [to be in the program]. it’s just about being an aware and responsible person on this earth and understanding your nature connection and why it’s important,” said glenn.

dany robles is the illinois green new deal coalition coordinator. in this q&a, he will talk in depth about the coalition’s goals such as a “just transition” to renewable energy in illinois, engaging black and brown working class communities, and the creation of an environmental youth council.

interviews have been edited for length and clarity.

q: what need did you guys see for the green new deal coalition?

a: we felt that there wasn’t a group talking to working class families or people about climate change and their opportunities to impact their own lives through upcoming legislation. we really wanted to contextualize the conversations that needed to be happening. post-trump presidency, there was also a gap of who’s pitching and advocating for a green new deal at the national level to bring the funding that is necessary. so that’s how our coalition got built up.

there’s young organizers out there who are very much dedicated and looking to make those changes. but they’re very spread out throughout the state. it just feels like there’s an opportunity for us to coalesce all the advocates throughout the state to make sure that they have a space to have conversations amongst each other, but also build that network to be ready for the long haul project. our coalition landed on the structural reform being a 20 to 30 year project. we need to be creating the spaces and areas where we can continue having the development, the analysis, and the campaign goals that are going to get us to win these changes.

q: as an organizer based in chicago, what are some environmental issues you see specific to the city?

a: what we see especially here in chicago is a lack of access to green spaces for black and brown communities, food apartheids that are preventing people from getting good, healthy food, and the city keeps making these plans to decarbonize within a certain timeframe. but the city is not making sure black and brown community members have access to green jobs, the technical training involved in these jobs and the creation of resources such as green space that the city will be investing in.

there are a lot of community members who are concerned about what changing our way of energy and transportation means for them if they work in those industries. so there’s a big conversation on what a “just transition” to renewable energy looks like. for us it’s a question of how we ensure that we’re getting buy-in from those community members, and helping them be leaders so that the just transition conversation is uplifted. 

q:  could you talk a bit more about a “just transition”? how do you think it can be done in a way that is mindful of who a transition to renewable energy might be affecting?

a: there’s the climate and equitable jobs act that puts some funding towards technical training, but also assistance for any housing or financial issues that some workers might have during the process. we think that we’ll need to see more of that.

a just transition also creates a timeline that’s not going to cause abrupt change. we’re not going to close everything down in the next two years. it’s gonna actually take almost 20 years before the full coal plants close down. what we’re hoping to do in the next decade or so is make that timeline decrease because we can’t continue exerting greenhouse emissions at the rate that we’re going, and even though illinois is at the forefront of closing down fossil fuel plants as a source of energy, there are still so many states that are far behind. we’re not moving fast enough to impact the amount of greenhouse emissions that we have to reduce. 

i think one of the things that we, as organizers, have to lean on is, radical change sometimes takes some time, unless there’s an inflection point that causes massive changes. it’s going to take some time for us to make the movement and mobilization towards the changes that we need. and part of that is grounding ourselves that it’s not a challenge of a day or a month. it’s a challenge of a lifetime.

i look at civil rights leaders or chicano leaders who did a lot of this work before us, and for them to make the changes that they needed, it sometimes took 20 years before the conversation really shifted. and for us as climate organizers that can feel alarming, because we do feel there’s that needle continuing to tick behind us. but i also think that needle can help us make the conversation to be quite transformational, when we start feeling the effects really hit us hard.

otherwise we are gonna see increasingly extreme climate patterns. we’re already seeing them, like forest fires and increased storms that are more severe in nature, droughts. i think sometimes we just have to feel it to really understand what’s happening. in chicago, we’re sensing it every once in a while, whether it’s longer summers, or wild winters.

q: you guys are also concerned with legislation, right? how do you try to bridge that gap between policymakers, and communities most impacted by environmental injustice, do you try to reconcile that?

a: i don’t. there’s a lot of people in those elected seats that are no longer paying attention to our communities — that they’re more closely tied to special interests — whatever it’s gonna take for them to win their offices. we’re looking to target those leaders to get them out. at the local level, we want to see impact on local races, and really have those conversations among the community members and the local leaders to be driving some of that impact.

it’s a bit of a challenge within our coalition because all of our organizations can’t technically be doing electoral political work. but what we can be doing is shaping the conversations that we have with our community members. some of the questions that we’re asking are, ‘what is your current elected official or representative doing for you? and how is that changing your current life?’ 

q: yourself and other environmental organizers are also trying to build up an environmental youth council in illinois. could you tell me any upcoming plans for that council?

a: the youth council will be part of our coalition. the coalition itself tends to be older folks. what we’re trying to do is bring those organizers in the coalition to the youth council, and then the youth council to the coalition to help give insight and keep conversations flowing between the both of them. we’re trying to build a campaign around equitable redevelopment of schools. with the youth council, i think more of our goals are closely tied to public schools, knowing that public schools also have to decarbonize in the next five to 10 years to be ready for renewable energy electrification.

as we are shifting those schools, we also want to be cognizant that water quality, and air quality isn’t the best in schools across illinois. we also want to move toward a curriculum in illinois that really focuses on climate justice and environmental justice to both give students a historical context of why environmental justice is important to our lives, but also a technical preparedness program to prepare young students for some other jobs that are coming up in the future.
 
q: as far as the demographics of the youth council, who is it that you guys want to be targeting?

a: for our youth council, we’re looking for college level students to take on mentorship roles. and then high school students would be those on the ground, helping bring some of the climate justice concepts to their peers. i mean high school students basically live at school for most of the school year. they can best explain why they need those changes, and why they are requiring their school administrators and school teachers to make those changes with them, for them.

on top of that, there’s a lot of teachers who want the schools to stop being closed down and be fully funded so they can get the mental health resources that they need, the nurses that they need, and better quality infrastructure, so their schools don’t feel like they’re always falling apart. so we hope to also liaise with students and teachers to be in conversation with each other.

q: how did environmental organizing become important for you? and what sustains you in the work?

a: after the 2016 election, it really clicked in my head that i wasn’t happy with the career path i was in. i was working in corporate investigations, and it just didn’t feel like i was feeling fulfilled at the end of the day. and what was the true catalyst for me to move into the organizing world was seeing aoc (u.s. congresswoman, alexandria ocasio-cortez) and members of the sunrise movement take over nancy pelosi’s office. i remember reading an article about it on one of my days at work, and i just saw their energy and determination. seeing aoc, who is a year younger than me, be the voice of our generation in the halls of power; it really motivated me to think about what else i could be doing. 

my first instinct was, i wanted to help elect better leaders like aoc and through that process, i ended up finding an organizing home with sunrise movement and organizations like justice democrats. in those organizations, my analysis of the structural issues that were happening started to refine themselves to really see the world in an intersectional lens, and also realize that one of the biggest issues that is upcoming for our generation is climate change. it’s a piece that’s gonna affect all of us across the world. as an immigrant, i just started realizing the conversation on immigration reform isn’t just about citizenship for the people who are here, but also thinking about how we absorb the climate refugees that are coming down the pipeline. 

climate refugees are going to be losing their homes and losing their ways of life because of the global climate change that we’ve caused as a western world. like the deeper we dive into it, the us, europe and all the western countries have a lot more culpability creating greenhouse gas increases. we should be thinking about how we are going to be adapting our immigration system to make sure that we are protecting the people that we’ve harmed.

one of the struggles now is that i think imperialism has taken a new life in how it’s being developed. now it’s very much tied to new liberal corporations, and i think having those targets — identifying that these are the people that we need to be advocating against — is a long-term trajectory, because i think we’ve gotten very closely tied and reliant on major corporations.

the big goal that we are trying to move towards is, ‘how do we create a sustainable way of community building so we don’t have to rely on these massive corporations to keep us going?’ we want to use the information that we are gathering, the stories that we experience, and use that to shape the conversation to make the changes that we need in the future.

to learn more about the illinois green new deal coalition, visit their twitter and instagram pages.

the farm itself, just off of storefront-lined lawrence avenue, interrupts the cityscape, appearing like a lush jungle apparition. 

although the farm has “training” in its official name, linda seyler, the director of the farm, says that there’s not much that she or farm manager haley lerand have to teach them. 

“they were farmers in their home country. they’re the best farmers i’ve ever met,” seyler says. 

their training does, however, focus on preparing farmers for chicago’s climate, as well as introducing new crops that the farmers might not be familiar with, such as swiss chard. 

than naing oo, one of global garden’s market farmers, says “kale, chard, spring onion, they love the cold.”

lerand says that farmers might not be immediately excited about growing more typical american produce, but that it eventually grows on them. in fact, she says some market farmers might not have even tried eating some of the american vegetables that they grow. 

naing oo, on the other hand, is curious, and although he didn’t initially like arugula, he’ll eat it after pickling it in a brine of water, dried rice, and salt. 

naing oo has been selling his yields as a market farmer for two years now, but has been farming with global garden since its inception in 2012. 

farm essentials for a global community

before coming to the u.s., naing oo spent 20 years in a refugee camp in thailand. he is karen (pronounced kah-ren), an ethnic identity that is a point of contention in myanmar due to karen people’s ongoing persecution in the country. most farmers at global garden – about 75% in fact – are refugees from myanmar (previously burma). many of them dislike being referred to as burmese, a term that challenges their people’s sovereignty.

farmers like naing oo have brought traditional fruits and vegetables to chicago to grow in their garden, while also integrating local cultivars. known as his “signature” are chinese long beans, which he likes to prepare in a salad with fish sauce, lime, and other veggies.

in late september, he had picked his plants bare, taking what he could before the end of market season.

amaranth is another popular crop with the farmers, including naing oo. it is indigenous to the americas, but is mostly seen as a weed.

“if you had a corn or soybean farmer come and visit they would look at us like we’re crazy for cultivating it,” lerand says. but she explains that amaranth is more nutritious than spinach, and farmers often use it for stir frying.

another common fruit on the farm is bitter melon, which lerand says is most commonly used for medicinal purposes. farmers might eat it with eggs, or if they’re really brave, on its own, because, as seyler says, “it is really bitter.”

naing oo makes a soup with water, garlic, bitter melon leaf, and squash flowers steeped in hot water, which he says is good for digestion. he says he isn’t much of a cook though, and likes to bring the ingredients home for his wife to make.

also on the farm, naing oo likes to grow thai chilis, a popular farm snack that farmers tend to eat on its own raw or wrapped in bitter melon leaf to eat with their stir-fried vegetables and rice – common in lunch boxes. 

lerand says that there’s lots of sharing of cuttings and seeds on the farm, creating a sense of community. naing oo was able to get hingala seeds, a plant that’s native to myanmar, from another farmer at global garden. 

“and pretty soon, you have people from all different cultures growing a particular plant, which is really cool to see,” lerand says.

sustaining in spite of it all

but things don’t always work smoothly on the farm. seyler says that they expect a lot of turnover at the garden, as she says there’s “a natural loss of participants.”

“they end up moving out of chicago, because it’s expensive to be here and hard to figure out how to buy a house here, and they don’t need our little garden plot anymore,” seyler says.

she also cited the previous presidential administration for the reduced participation after former president trump put caps on the amount of refugees who could enter the united states. even this year, the biden administration has missed the mark on refugee admissions, with only 20% of the allocated spots being filled.

while the farm wants to prioritize newly arrived refugees, most farmers have been with them for years, with the newest family joining three years earlier. seyler and lerand are happy with the community space the farm has also been able to provide.

lerand says that she and seyler have hopes of finding another plot of land in chicago to expand farming opportunities. global garden refugee training farm is not the first refugee agricultural project in the u.s., but it is important that spaces like this one continue to be created for farmers like naing oo so they can stay connected to their traditions.