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Comment by ketil on Industrial literacy · 2020-10-06T05:24:06.384Z · LW · GW

Even ignoring the current deaths due to the large scale desertification that Climate Change is causing,

What is your source for this?  On Wikipedia, there is a distinct lack of references to good quality data, and in the anecdotal evidence (e.g. shrinking of lakes in the Sahel) seem to have other contributing factors than climate change, like increasing irrigation.  Elsewhere I find that "[t]he Sahel region is experiencing a phase of population growth unprecedented in any other part of the world".

(https://ideas4development.org/en/population-growth-sahel-challenge-generation/)

At the current rate of fishing, all fish species could be practically extinct by 2050

What is your source for this?  While some fisheries are poorly managed, many are in much better shape.  There is a lack of knowledge about the status of many stocks, and we can't model ecosystems very well, but the uncertainty doesn't mean you can conclude with the most outrageous claim.

estimates ranging from 100 million to 1 billion climate refugees

Again, who is estimating this, and how?  Currently we have 70 million refugees from wars and oppression, and probably more fleeing towards better economic prospects (although we don't usually cause them refugees).   I propose we spend our resources towards fixing this, rather than towards some hypothetical refugee situation some time in the future.  A side benefit is that rich, peaceful nations tend to be the ones that manage their fisheries well, protect biodiversity and their inhabitants don't become refugees even when the occasional natural disaster strikes.