Warming climate could bring many refugees to Finland

Higher oil and food prices could spark streams of asylum seekers

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Climate change could bring an unprecedented number of so-called climate, or environment refugees to Finland in the future.
      "It would seem that climate change is primarily affecting those countries which many are leaving now. Food riots are probably just a prelude", said Jorma Vuorio, director-general of the Finnish Immigration Service (formerly the Directorate of Immigration).
     
For instance, Lake Chad, which was one of the largest lakes in Africa just 40 years ago, has shrunk to less than five per cent of its previous area. In addition to climate change and desertification, the lake has been affected by demographic pressures: the use of the water for irrigation quadrupled in the 1980s.
      Matti Heinonen at the Finnish Immigration Service estimates that there are 140 million climate refugees on the move now. In the coming years, there could be as many as 800 million, especially in sub-Saharan Africa.
     The number of people seeking shelter in Finland has been growing by about 11% compared with the same time the previous year.
     
Climate exile is nevertheless such a new, or hushed-up subject, that it lacks legal definition. For instance, the Geneva Refugee Treaty does not mention the concept, and the Finnish Immigration Service has also not made any decisions on the basis of climate exile.
     Currently those fleeing natural disasters can be granted temporary protection. However, deserts rarely go green again.
     "Naturally, if an entire country is seen to be uninhabitable, we could grant permanent residence permits", Vuorio explains.
     
Preparations have been made in Finland for large numbers of asylum-seekers, Vuorio says, but the plans linked with them are not public plans.
     So many refugees have shown up in Greece, Italy, and Spain from North Africa, that it is likely to become an absolute necessity for other countries, including Finland, to share the burden, by taking on quotas of refugees.
     Differences among countries are nevertheless as great both with respect to the number of asylum seekers, and the way that the applications are handled.
     At the same time there is talk of a European-wide labour shortage. The greying old continent is competing for Filipino nurses and Ukrainian construction workers.
     According to a population forecast, Finland's labour market will lose about 400,000 workers between 2010 and 2030. As many as 100,000 foreign workers could be needed in the Helsinki region alone.
     
Finland is also making it easier for foreign workers to settle in Finland, although it has generally been a very picky recipient of immigrants. The refugee quota has remained at 750 for many years. Sweden accepts many times that number of asylum seekers each year.
     Last year Finland got a record number of nearly 20,000 new foreign residents, of whom most were coming to Finland for work, or for family reasons.
     "We couldn't imagine that the change would come so quickly and with such strength", Vuorio says.


Links:
  Finnish Immigration Service

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