Loyola Chicago’s 2023 Climate Change Conference

Hello everyone, this is Camille here, and I wanted to give a quick summary of my experience attending Loyola Chicago’s annual Climate Change Conference! The focus of this year’s conference was “Human Migration in the Era of Climate Change”, which is a vital topic to discuss as people are forced to leave their homes due to issues caused by climate change such as rising sea levels and more severe storm patterns. 

The conference consisted of a keynote speaker and a moderated panel discussion. I personally really enjoyed hearing from Michael Nash, the filmmaker who wrote and produced the documentary Climate Refugees. His perspective on the matter was interesting because he has interacted firsthand with individuals impacted by this crisis. He also talked about how he had heard over and over again from these people that climate change is a punishment from god. It was eye opening to hear his stories and to see clips and photos from his travels. 

During the panel discussion, Nash, along with Shelly Culbertson, a policy researcher at the RAND corporation, Yves Umuhoza, a Burundian climate refugee, and Father Thomas Smolich, director of the Jesuit Refugee Service, discussed this issue more in depth. I enjoyed hearing each perspective on the issue, and the theme I collected from the discussion was that we must not place these refugees into the already failing refugee system. Instead, we should find ways for these individuals to integrate into society and benefit the economy. Additionally, the panelists stressed the importance of passing international laws to grant climate refugees the same protections as refugees forced out by persecution or conflict. I learned how there are more than 103 million climate migrants, so this kind of legislation would benefit so many people.

Because the United States isn’t facing the dramatic effects of climate change that other countries are facing, in the words of the panel moderator, we remain “consuming comfortably without considering the consequences.” This inspired me to be more conscious of my actions on a daily basis and continue to advocate for climate and immigration legislation. This conference was an engaging educational experience, and I look forward to attending the conference in the years to come. You can watch a recording of the conference here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QsWezzSNjHM