By Trimmel Gomes, Florida News Connection
Last year, filmmaker Michael Nash achieved the extraordinary when his documentary “Climate Refugees” was sent to the moon as part of a Lunar Museum project. Now, he’s on a new mission: getting the faces of climate refugees featured on postage stamps to keep the conversation about climate migration alive.
“Climate Refugees,” which premiered at Sundance and was later featured on Netflix, has been a powerful tool for raising awareness about the human impact of climate change. Nash and his team traveled to 48 countries, uncovering stories of forced migration driven by droughts, food shortages and environmental collapse.
“What we found was this intersection where overpopulation, overconsumption, lack of resources and a changing climate were slamming into each other,” Nash explained. “The outcome was forced migration: people running out of water and food in places they’d lived for hundreds, if not thousands, of years.”
While the film’s journey to the moon in 2024 was a historic milestone, Nash is now focused on a more down-to-earth goal: creating postage stamps featuring the faces of climate refugees, although gaining approval from the U.S. Postal Service’s stamp committee will require demonstrating the issue’s national relevance and historical significance.
Despite the progress in raising awareness, Nash emphasized the world has not done enough to address climate migration.
“There is not an international law accepted by all countries that gives asylum or protection to people forced to relocate due to climate change,” Nash pointed out.
According to the United Nations, more than 20 million people are displaced annually by climate-related events, making the need for action more pressing than ever.
Nash was a featured speaker at last week’s Climate Correction Conference in Orlando. His next project, a film exploring the intersection of artificial intelligence and climate change, is currently in production and set for release in 2026.
Florida News Connection is a bureau of the Public News Service. Volo Foundation contributes to its fund for reporting on climate change/air quality, environment and environmental justice, and is a financial supporter of The Invading Sea. Banner photo: Another image of Michael Nash speaking at the Climate Correction Conference (Trimmel Gomes photo).
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