We have had a wake-up call about how Western and particularly US policies have destabilised the Middle East with the resulting exodus of refugees. Half of the Syrian population has either fled or been displaced within their own country.

Climate change in the Middle East is adding to the problem. This is examined in a report by Jaime de Melo for the Brookings Institute on August 24, 2015. He comments:

The disintegration of states resulting from political, ethnic and religious conflicts are the proximate causes of this migration surge (from the Middle East), but evidence from the new climate-economy literature suggests that weather has also played a role and will certainly play a growing role as our planet warms. … While the ongoing Syrian civil war has many contributing factors … the exceptionally long five-year drought linked to rising mean temperatures in the Middle East has contributed to civil unrest. … Had the misguided agricultural policies been avoided, the supply of ground water would have provided a cushion during this exceptionally long drought and, according to accumulating evidence of the new climate-economy literature, social tensions would have been less. … Dealing with increasing migratory pressures from economic factors and rising temperatures will require countries to delegate national sovereignty and accommodate far greater migration flows than in recent history or face widespread conflicts.

See link below.        John Menadue