Story Map: Changing Climate Conversations

Climate change displacement is already a reality in the Arctic

It is estimated that upwards of 200 million people globally will be displaced from their homes and forced to relocate within their country's borders by 2050 1 . Rising sea levels, coastal erosion, flooding, extreme weather, heat waves and drought are making some lands uninhabitable or simply too costly to live. In this context, many people will face the realities of relocation. Climate change displacement is something that many communities in Canada will face in the future. The people in the Arctic hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk already are experiencing the realities of relocation. It is estimated that the entire townsite of Tuktoyaktuk will be uninhabitable by 2050 given the present rates of coastal erosion, sea level rise and permafrost thaw 2. The long timelines and lack of political will behind most climate policies (such as making it to net zero by 2050) are far too little, too late for the communities on the frontlines of climate change displacement.

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