For years, think tanks, media outlets, and advocacy groups have been raising the alarm that climate change will cause mass migration through its effects on water resources, agriculture, and infrastructure. This is especially true in the developing world. The truth is that climate migration is here, and it’s happening now. But what exactly are climate refugees, and what can we do to help them?
1. Climate refugees are people who are forced to migrate due to climate concerns
Whether it’s a period of drought or sudden flooding, climate refugees are forced to permanently or temporarily leave their homes because of climate stressors.
This includes sea-level rise, heavy flooding, changing rainfall, or heatwaves. When climate change refugees migrate, they seek more ideal places to build a livelihood within a state or across an international border.
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2. There are three types of climate migrants
According to the International Organisation for Migration, there are three types of environmental migrants. Environmental emergency migrants are those who temporarily flee due to sudden environmental disasters like earthquakes, hurricanes, and tsunamis.
Environmental forced migrants are those who have to flee their homes because of deteriorating environmental conditions. This is mostly due to slow-onset disasters such as coastal deterioration, deforestation, etc.
Environmental-motivated migrants, also known as environmentally induced economic migrants, choose to leave of their own volition to avoid future problems. For example, a person who chooses to leave because of declining crop productivity caused by desertification is called an environmentally motivated migrant.
3. The term ‘climate migrant’ is more often used than ‘climate refugees’
When referring to people forced to leave their homes due to climate change, ‘climate migrant’ is the term more often used. Climate migrants are not refugees, and as such, they are currently not accorded protections offered to typical refugees.
As such, this has caused more than one climate refugee organization to discuss the importance of offering refugee status to climate migrants, as they are just as vulnerable as refugees who are fleeing from political violence or persecution. This brings us to the next thing you need to know about climate refugees.
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4. Climate refugees are not offered refugee protection
The 1951 Refugee Convention defines refugees as “people outside their country of nationality or habitual residence and who have a well-founded fear of being persecuted because of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, and are unable or unwilling to seek protection from their home countries.” People forcibly displaced due to climate disasters do not fall under this definition.
5. Two types of natural disasters cause climate migration
Climate refugees leave for a different place due to two types of natural disasters: sudden-onset disasters and slow-onset disasters.
Sudden-onset disasters are sudden catastrophes, like hurricanes, wildfires, and floods. When these types of disasters occur, the affected people typically migrate within their country of origin. Over 23.9 million of the 24.9 million who were displaced in 2019 migrated because of sudden-onset disasters. This number is expected to go up as the climate worsens.
Slow-onset disasters are natural disasters that are not caused by a single event. They build up and occur slowly. This includes sea-level rise, drought, and bad agricultural conditions.
Slow-onset disasters are more likely to cause permanent cross-border movement.
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6. There are historical accounts of climate migration
Drought had a part to play in the migration and decline of the Mayan Empire from 660 to 1000 AD, while climate variability hastened the migration following the decline of the Western Roman Empire in 476 AD.
Drought and flooding are two main causes of population movements, as evident in the westward Mongolian expansion in the 13th century. These are just some of the most well-known migration incidents caused by climate change.
7. It’s hard to put a number on climate refugees
How many climate refugees are there? Migration is multi-causal, and it can be very challenging to distinguish the environment as its sole catalyst except for movements linked to natural disasters. In the case of hazards, political, socioeconomic, demographic, cultural, and personal factors play an important role in a person’s decision to stay or migrate.
This is exactly why global figures on environmental migrants are challenging to create. Today, however, several innovative approaches are being made to study the plight of climate refugees. These studies prove to be very useful in providing insights for informing policies.
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) has conducted reliable existing estimates in its annual report on Global Estimates: People displaced by disasters.
According to the report, over 26.4 million people have been newly displaced annually between 2008 and 2014. This equates to over one person per second. This figure is projected to rise because of the worsening effects of climate change.
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8. The vulnerable are more susceptible to climate migration
Most climate crisis refugees come from countries with vulnerable geographies, low adaptive capacities, and fragile ecosystems, but it is also financially strapped and do not have the resources to leave their homes.
While climate migration can be seen globally as it affects all regions, Asia bears the brunt. Internally displaced persons forced to leave their homes due to disasters in Asia represented over 87% of all displaced in 2014, even if the continent hosts only 60% of the world’s total population.
As of 2019, India, Afghanistan, Ethiopia, the Philippines, and Sudan were the countries with the highest number of internally displaced people.
Putting these figures in perspective, internally displaced persons who were displaced by disasters accounted for more than double the migrants who had to flee their homes due to armed conflict.
Most climate refugees also come from rural areas, as their livelihoods are dependent on climate-reliant factors such as fishing and agriculture.
Climate migration out of urban areas also occurs, but in less frequency, as those who live in coastal areas are affected by sea-level rise.
9. Climate migration has multiple consequences
With the number of climate refugees rising year after year, many are left vulnerable. Whether internally or internationally displaced, climate migrants, just like refugees, face a number of challenges and problems, including loss of work, education, social life, housing, security, and health care.
For example, those leaving Central America to migrate to the U.S. may travel dangerously by cramming into freight trains. They could also face potential violence from police or immigration officials.
Once they’ve arrived at their destination, climate refugees may find it difficult to secure a livelihood, and even more so in the face of cultural and language barriers. If they do land a job, the job is often menial and low-paying, even if they’re overqualified.
The combination of different challenges, including lack of protection, economic difficulty, and absence of emotional support, leave climate refugees at risk of being exploited.
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10. There is no negative economic impact on advanced countries that accept climate migrants
While it’s easy to believe that countries with climate refugees will experience job losses and falling wages when accepting climate migrants, this is not the case for advanced countries. In most cases, displaced migrants in advanced countries are willing to work.
This will thus cause a proportionate output and investment while also accelerating the economy’s long-term growth rate.
11. Conferring refugee status to climate migrants can be complicated
The longstanding debate of whether climate migrants should be conferred refugee status is complex, and this is due to a variety of reasons. Refugee experts like Dina Ionesco do not believe that offering refugee status to environmental migrants is the best strategy to protect them.
Since most climate migrants relocate internally due to the challenges of crossing national borders, this would fail to protect a majority of them, as refugee status is conferred only to individuals who are outside their country of origin.
Dina also believes that creating a special refugee status for climate migrants may lead to the exclusion of those who require protection, ‘especially the poorest migrants who move because of a mix of factors and would not be able to prove the link to environmental and climate factors.
The longstanding debate of whether climate migrants should be conferred refugee status is complex, and this is due to a variety of reasons. Refugee experts like Dina Ionesco do not believe that offering refugee status to environmental migrants is the best strategy to protect them.
Since most climate migrants relocate internally due to the challenges of crossing national borders, this would fail to protect a majority of them, as refugee status is conferred only to individuals who are outside their country of origin.
Dina also believes that creating a special refugee status for climate migrants may lead to the exclusion of those who require protection, ‘especially the poorest migrants who move because of a mix of factors and would not be able to prove the link to environmental and climate factors.
Another reason is the challenge of isolating climatic reasons for migrating, in particular political, humanitarian, social, economic, or conflict ones. Since climate migration can sometimes coincide with other reasons for migrating, determining climate change as the sole reason can be an impossible task, which may lead to unrealistic and lengthy legal procedures.
12. Several countries are more responsible for the plight of climate refugees
Without climate change, there are no climate refugees. Nations that generate the most cross-border migrants generate some of the least carbon emissions, which means they are the least responsible for the climate change crisis.
This means that countries that spur climate change through carbon emissions have a moral obligation to offer adaptation assistance to those forced to leave their homes.
In a study entitled “Who takes responsibility for climate refugees?”, the top 20 countries that accounted for 82% of the total global carbon dioxide emissions were analyzed according to parameters that include per capita CO2 emissions, gross national income, ecological footprint, and human development index.
The study discovered that under present circumstances, the USA and Australia should take responsibility for 10% of each of the overall global share of climate refugees.
This is followed by Saudi Arabia and Canada (9%), South Korea (7%), and Germany, Russia, and Japan (6%).
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13. Climate migration has more negative impacts on women
According to global aid group CARE International, women shoulder a much bigger burden under climate change and other pressures pushing people to move to survive. From greater risks of illness to extra farm work and sexual violence in displacement camps, women bear the brunt of the climate migration’s damaging effects.
A good example of the severe effects of climate migration on women is Cyclone Idai. Women hit by the typhoon that hit Malawi and Mozambique, Zimbabwe in 2019 are still facing grave health threats due to limited access to basic services and sanitary products.
Drought and floods in Ethiopia have forced over 200,000 people from their homes, and women living in overcrowded shelters are at risk of higher levels of sexual violence.
According to CARE’s global policy lead on climate change, Sven Harmeling, climate change may mean more men are leaving to source income elsewhere. This stresses left behind women as they try to earn money while caring for the family.
The report concluded that aid agencies and governments must work together to find solutions by gathering more data on how women are affected by climate-linked displacement and migration.
14. There are a number of proposed solutions for climate refugees
There are several proposed solutions to ease the plight of climate refugees. The World Bank proposed three ways to reduce the number of climate migrants by 80%. The first is reducing greenhouse gasses. Carbon emissions are the largest cause of climate change, so cutting down on greenhouse gasses will directly impact the severity of climate change and, in effect, lessen the number of climate migrants yearly.
Second is investing in more research to determine how climate change can impact migration. More studies need to be conducted on where climate impacts will strike so governments can predict the next migration hotspot.
The third is drafting better policies. According to the World Bank, national governments must consider climate migration in their developmental planning so they can implement policies to protect climate refugees.
Expanding the UN Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement to cover not just sudden-onset disasters but slow-onset disasters can help protect all kinds of climate refugees and not just those displaced by emergencies.
Apart from the World Bank, other experts have proposed solutions to reduce the number of climate refugees or improve their protection. Another solution is enabling free movement between states.
In the Caribbean, for example, the Free Movement Agreement allows displaced people to move to other islands without the requirement of travel documents or work permits. They were also assisted with resettlement and granted indefinite stays.
Cities that receive more climate migrants should also be able to better handle them through investments in infrastructure, sanitation, job opportunities, and health services.
