Will the LA fires unleash a wave of climate migrants?
Zero: The Climate Race
Bloomberg
4.7 • 219 Ratings
🗓️ 16 January 2025
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
As the blazes in Los Angeles continue to burn, those who have lost their homes are contending with the immediate need for shelter– and difficult questions about whether or not to rebuild in the fire zone. Grist reporter Jake Bittle tells Akshat Rathi how California’s housing market and insurance regulations will shape the recovery. And Nomad Century author Gaia Vince says that in this era of climate instability, everyone should think about how prepared they are to become a climate migrant.
Explore further:
- Past episode about the 1.5C warming goal being surpassed
- Past episode with sci-fi writer Kim Stanley Robinson about imagining the future role of the UN in fighting climate change
- Past episode about climate change, conflict, and migration
- Bloomberg Green story about the aircraft used to scoop water to fight fires in LA
Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Mythili Rao. Special thanks this week to Michelle Ma, Brian Kahn, Sharon Chen, and Sommer Saadi. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to Zero. I am Akshadrati. |
| 0:03.0 | This week, climate migrants. |
| 0:05.0 | As the fires in Los Angeles continue to burn, displaced residents are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives. |
| 0:26.8 | In an evacuation shelter in Westwood, Bloomberg reporter Michelle Ma spoke with a 72-year-old man named Paul Netter. |
| 0:34.5 | And can I ask where you live? |
| 0:37.2 | Well, I used to live in the palisades. |
| 0:39.9 | Okay. |
| 0:40.5 | And do you know what the state of your home is? |
| 0:42.7 | 99% burnt. |
| 0:46.5 | I'm so sorry. |
| 0:48.4 | I mean, they call it a war zone, apocalyptic. |
| 0:51.9 | It's, you've seen the pictures. |
| 0:53.7 | It's unbelievable. |
| 0:55.5 | And when did you leave? |
| 0:57.9 | Paul had just enough time to grab his two cats, a few sentimental items before he left, but not much else. |
| 1:04.0 | In two jackets. My father used to wear a sports jacket and a 50-year-old leather jacket that I get complimented on. |
| 1:15.1 | Where will he go next? He does not know. |
| 1:18.3 | Each year, the number of people making decisions like the ones he's facing grows. |
| 1:23.3 | In the U.S. alone, a Census Bureau survey found that at least a million people were displaced |
| 1:28.5 | by climate catastrophes in 2022. |
| 1:32.0 | And the International Organization for Migration estimates that there might be as many as a billion |
| 1:37.5 | environmental migrants around the world within the next 30 years. |
... |
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