event

The Great Displacement: Climate Migration in America

Mon. March 20th, 2023
Live Online

We often conceive of climate change as a future problem, one to be faced decades from now, when rising seas and failed harvests will send people fleeing from their homes. But in fact, climate change is already driving migration today, even in prosperous countries like the United States.

We see it reported regularly in the news: American homes swept away by record-breaking storms and surging seas or burned to ash by uncontrollable wildfires. This trend is mirrored around the world, and yet there is no legally recognized status—and thus no legal right to asylum—for “climate refugees." It’s a problem that is only growing more serious.

Join the Carnegie Endowment online for a conversation and audience Q&A featuring Jake Bittle and Noah J. Gordon on Bittle’s latest book,  The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration. Sarah Labowitz will offer a special introduction to the program.

Climate ChangeNorth AmericaUnited States
Carnegie does not take institutional positions on public policy issues; the views represented herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of Carnegie, its staff, or its trustees.
event speakers

Jake Bittle

Jake Bittle is a reporter who covers climate change, energy, housing, among others. He is currently a staff writer at Grist, where he covers climate impacts and adaptation. He is the author of The Great Displacement: Climate Change and the Next American Migration which was released February 21, 2023.

Noah Gordon

Acting Co-Director, Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics Program, Fellow, Europe Program

Noah J. Gordon is acting co-director of the Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington, DC.

Sarah Labowitz

Nonresident Scholar, Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics Program

Sarah Labowitz is a nonresident scholar in the Sustainability, Climate, and Geopolitics Program whose work lies at the intersection of climate, national security, and democracy.