KENNEBEC JOURNAL • August 11, 2023
Climate change will leave more people vulnerable to natural disasters, droughts, extreme temperatures, and other disruptions to their way of life, motivating many to migrate north to cooler parts of the planet. How will leaders respond to this migration? Many politicians and public officials frame climate migration as one simple story: a threat to national security. Migration is a much more complex issue. It’s better to use a polycentric approach, meaning one that employs multiple decision-making bodies that operate independently of each other. We’ll find the right responses to climate migrants like Francis if we create opportunities for responses at every level instead of relying on a one-size-fits-all national response. ~ Nathan Goodman, Mercatus Center, and Justus Enninga, King’s College London