The Visa pour l'Image international festival of photojournalism kicks off on Saturday in Perpignan, in the south of France. The 35th edition will highlight the consequences of climate change, as well as migrant crises in the Mediterranean and South America, the war in Ukraine and uprisings in Iran.

"We've been saying for years that the house is burning down, but we still haven't moved! We're going to have to adapt: climate change is becoming an urgent problem, and if Visa can help make people aware of it, that would be great," Jean-François Leroy, the festival's director, told French news agency AFP.

James Balog, Nick Brandt, Giles Clarke and Ian Berry will exhibit their photos showing the consequences of over-exploitation of the planet's resources – not only for nature but also for populations deprived of water, poisoned by pesticides or even forced into exile.

Human face of climate change

In her series "Farewell Isle de Jean-Charles", photographer Sandra Mehl turns her lens on the United States' first climate refugees, in the state of Louisiana.

Climate change is not sparing the world's leading economic power, yet many migrants dream of setting foot there and embark on perilous journeys to do so.

"By dint of giving figures for deaths and disappearances at sea, they become statistics, and we want to show that behind them there are human beings who are suffering and taking insane risks to give themselves a better life," Leroy explained.

Migrant crises

Read more on RFI English

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