After his request for asylum was denied, a man who is looking for refuge in New Zealand hired a lawyer to file an appeal. His persecutor, per se, is said to be climate change.

Climate change is expected to result in millions of refugees around the world and we are starting to see some glimpses of that future scenario.

After his requests for asylum were denied, the man who is looking for refuge in New Zealand, will file an appeal before the High Court, and his attorney says they will take it to the Supreme Court if needed.

The refugee asserts that he has been driven from his home island of Kiribati, one of the countries considered to be most vulnerable to rising sea levels.

He said tides have broken through the island’s natural coastal barriers, resulting in contaminated drinking water.

Thus, he and his family left Kiribati and went to New Zealand, where he has filed for official protection status.

While the UN has acknowledged that becoming a refugee of climate change is a real possibility, the New Zealand government has not and has rejected the man’s application twice.

They say that there is no basis for the man’s claim as he’s not being persecuted by other people.

The refugee’s attorney is arguing that because climate change is man-made, the man and his family are, indeed, under attack by other humans.

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