RAF Manji discusses long-term risks from climate change, sketching a scenario where in several decades (30–50 years) up to a billion people may need to move because parts of the world become too hot to inhabit. He raises questions about how New Zealand — a sparsely populated, large landmass — might prepare to host or integrate large numbers of climate migrants and what living-together strategies might be required.
Now, when I think ahead to the future and a very challenging future in terms of climate change and potentially, and it might be in 30 years time, might be in 50 years time, a billion people having to move because it's too hot to live where they are. So that's that big swathe of Middle Earth, north and south. How are we going to deal with that? What can New Zealand offer in the way of living together? We're a small population in a big landmass. You know, you compare our landmass to, say, Japan or to the United Kingdom or to bits of Europe, how do we prepare?
