Climate change and emigration from Central America may be more related than you think

To celebrate Latin American studies, Edwin Castellanos delivered a lecture on the connections between climate change and emigration from Central America on Friday. 

The event was co-sponsored by the Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies, the Center for the Study of the American South and the UNC College of Arts and Sciences.

“We are delighted to be part of an event that brings together audiences from all parts of the state,” said Malinda Lowery, a history professor and director of the Center for the Study of the American South. 

The Center for the Study of the American South co-hosted the lecture because of its unique ability to combine climate change with migration, said Patrick Horn, the center's associate director. 

The lecture is part of a broader two-day conference on Latin American studies that Lowery said is through collaboration between the Consortium on Latin American and Caribbean Studies at UNC and Duke University and the Latin American Studies Program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. 

“The two issues that the talk is going to address are climate change and migration, immigration," Horn said. "Both are very interesting subjects for us and are two of the most important, two of the most controversial, pressing issues that the American South is facing.”

During Friday’s lecture, Castellanos, a lead scientist on climate change and dean of research at Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, gave his thoughts on how climate change may be affecting underlying conditions in Central America that are leading to increased emigration. 

“Although we cannot say for certain that climate change is causing migration from Central American countries, it may definitely be a contributing factor, but we cannot know for sure. Climate change exasperates underlying economic and political problems in the region," Castellanos said. 

In light of recent news coverage on migration and caravans traveling from Central America to the United States, policy analysts have been trying to understand why people are leaving Central America. 

An ongoing example is in Venezuela. Poor economic conditions have caused a flux of migrants to leave the country, with many heading for the United States, according to the Center for Immigration Studies. 

Increased immigration and fears of migrant caravans heading toward the United States have caused concern for certain Republican lawmakers, according to The Washington Post. These concerns were brought up in President Donald Trump's shutdown of the federal government to fund a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

“Republicans on the Homeland Security Committee are wasting their time. Democrats, despite all of the evidence, proof and caravans coming, are not going to give money to build the DESPERATELY needed WALL," Trump tweeted on Jan. 31. "I’ve got you covered. Wall is already being built, I don’t expect much help!” 

Several students from the Chapel Hill community attended the lecture because of their connections to Central America.

"I’m studying global studies with a concentration in Latin America, so I’m really interested in every aspect of migration and issues like climate change," said junior Marisa Carlton. "I also have roots in Mexico, and I was born there.”

Other students attended the lecture because of their personal interests in climate change and immigration.

“I came to the lecture because I have a number of friends and professors involved in the conference," said sophomore Klaus Mayr. "This is one of the most notable things that happened this week, and this guy sounds like a really awesome guy that's bringing the topic of climate change down to earth for us.”

@KyleArendas1

university@dailytarheel.com