Wealthy countries built their prosperity on decades of carbon emissions and industrial development, so they bear the largest historical responsibility for climate change. When rising seas displace millions or droughts destroy entire regions, those of us who benefited from the pollution causing it have a moral duty to help, especially through accepting climate refugees. Turning people away to die violates basic humanitarian principles that wealthy nations claim to stand for.
Every nation has a primary duty to its own citizens first—managing immigration, housing, and resources is already challenging. Accepting unlimited climate refugees won't solve the underlying climate problem and could create domestic instability and resentment. Instead, wealthy nations should fund climate mitigation and adaptation projects in vulnerable countries so people can stay in their homes, rather than accepting mass migration they can't sustainably integrate.
