Recent studies estimate that the IPCC’s projections of an 18 to 59 centimeter rise in sea level due to the melting of the Antarctica and Greenland ice sheets is well within the range of possibilities during this century. In fact, a study conducted by the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment estimates that a sea level rise of 2 meters is an unfortunate possibility. The implications of a dramatic rise in sea level on the 634 million people who live along coastlines in the Low Elevation Coastal Zone represents the potential for a vast displacement of refugees on a scale that our planet has never seen.

The World Resources Institute estimates the total number of potential refugees to be 144 million in China alone. Countries such as India, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Japan, Egypt and the United States also have massive numbers of vulnerable people in low lying areas. Urban centers such as London, New York, Shanghai and Kolkata are at risk, along with the agricultural regions of Asia, which supply food throughout the world.

As a result, there has never been a more compelling reason to support international policies that seek to regulate human-induced climate change. Exciting progress is being made along this front, as exemplified by the American Clean Energy and Security Act and the upcoming UN climate negotiations in Copenhagen. Supporting climate change legislation that regulates greenhouse gas emissions not only protects our limited and valuable natural resources, it also protects the livelihood of one eighth of the world’s urban population. Getting involved today by learning about and lobbying for your country’s climate change legislation can help to ensure the safety of millions of potential climate refugees worldwide.