Environmental change and migration: legal and political frameworks

This paper aims to concretise climate change adaptation obligations in the context of international migration. The movement of individuals and entire communities is predicted to be one of the gravest consequences of climate change. Migration is one form of response that has the potential to be both beneficial and destructive for those facing the impacts of climate change. Managed migration is also a process states will likely initiate. This could take advantage of the opportunity to plan for predicted impacts, but it will also risk substantial human suffering – especially in states that have poor human rights records. Until now, however, the nature of state obligations and responsibilities to adapt or assist others with adaptation has not been given sufficient consideration, particularly in the context of migration. There are three adaptation obligations – of action, assistance, and cooperation – established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Every United Nations member state is a party to the UNFCCC, which means that these obligations are potentially powerful tools in the effort to address the impacts of climate change, including through migration. Yet the UNFCCC and climate change regime provide little guidance as to the meaning of these obligations. This paper therefore argues for the integration and application of other rules and principles of international law in the interpretation and implementation of adaptation obligations. By drawing on human rights law, principles of environmental law, guidance on resettlement and relocation, and work done by the Nansen Initiative, this paper seeks to develop and clarify the adaptation obligations of both countries of origin and destination for international migration.

Global Environmental Change, 2010

2.4. Institutions and policies today focus on economic migrants and refugees Currently, many different international agreements, guiding principles, norms, and institutions shape governance of human 1 The literature on adaptation uses various definitions, ranging from the ability of a system to adjust to moderate potential damage, the ability to take advantage of opportunities, or the ability to cope with consequences (Fü ssel and Klein, 2006). K. Warner / Global Environmental Change xxx (2010) xxx-xxx 2 G Model JGEC-748; No. of Pages 12

Global Studies Journal, 2(1), 43-56., 2009

The current period in history has been aptly termed “the age of globalization.” This age is characterized by an increasing interconnectedness where positive as well as negative events originating in one country may have a world-wide impact. For example, the financial crisis of 2008 originated in the banking system of the U.S.A. but affected the majority of the countries of this globe. The same is true for anthropogenic climate change as a result of an increase in greenhouse gas emission by industrialized countries which now compromises the well-being of the world’s most vulnerable populations. These high risk Least Developed Countries (LDCs) struggle to adapt to climatic changes like desertification and rising sea level that force human migration in search for survival. The chaos of this migration often precipitates violence and security crises that require humanitarian and proactive collective global action. It is the goal of this paper to explore the interface between climate change, conflict, and human migration based on current research findings and case studies. Further, the two concepts of environmental migrant and environmental refugee are presented and problems with the terminology and the legal status of the vulnerable people groups are discussed. Possible future migration patterns and their global impact are also examined. Additionally, the phenomenon called ‘abrupt climate change’ is explored. The article concludes with a set of recommendations targeting governmental and humanities interventions on how best to mitigate climate change induced migration with collective global action.

Proceedings of the 2018 2nd International Conference on Education Science and Economic Management (ICESEM 2018), 2018

In order to combat the adverse effects of climate, as well as to arrange voluntary resettlement of the population of the sinking states, measures are being developed both at the universal, regional, and national levels. In this article, we will only consider the universal level of international legal regulation in frames of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change of 1992 (hereinafter UNFCCC). As we can see, to date, the main international strategies for assistance to small island developing states in the context of climate change have a preventive focus, are aimed at implementing national adaptation programs with international financial support, and the issue of planning the migration of the population of the endangered small island developing states to other states is not being raised.

Refuge: Canada's Journal on Refugees, 2014

Disappearing coastlines, fields and homes flooded by rising waters, lands left cracked and barren by desertification, a snowpack shrinking in circumpolar regions year by year—these are only a few of the iconic images of climate change that have evoked discussion, debate, and consternation within communities both global and local. Equally alarming has been the threat of what such degraded and destroyed landscapes might mean for those who depend upon them for their livelihoods—as their homes, as their means of sustenance, and as an integral part of their cultural and social lives. A mass of humanity on the move—some suggest 50 million, 150 million, perhaps even a billion people1—the spectre of those forced to flee not as the result of war or conflict but rather a changed environment haunts the imaginaries of national governments, international institutions, and public discourse alike. Are these environmental refugees? Should they be granted the same protections and support as those wh...

2021

Climate change and migration are significantly affecting the geopolitics of the 21st century, and although they are still dealt with by common policies as distinct phenomena, they are indeed strongly interrelated and the nature of this relationship is the subject increasing attention both in the academic environment and in international political fora. In fact, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), for example, - which took place in Glasgow, Scotland, on the occasion of COP26 - has established a specific Task Force on Displacement and Mobility driven by the environmental effects of climate change. Given our globalised world, both phenomena require a response at national and international levels, involving state sovereignty, social justice and Human Rights. The aim of this paper, from a climate justice perspective, is to contribute towards the debate on the impact of climate change on migration and on the latter’s possible contribution to adaptation processes in response to the negative effects of the current climate crisis

Although it is widely recognized that climate change constitutes one of the main factor triggering migration, to date migration policies do still neglect this aspect leaving unprotected the environmental migrants, who are not even assisted by Refugee and Human Rights Laws. An analysis of these legal instruments can show the breaches regarding environmental migrants as well as a lack of political will to defend their rights. Such a stalemate could be overcome through the formalization of migration as adaptation to climate change. Migrating from a place to another in order to adapt to environmental transformations, is in fact a strategy that reduces the vulnerabilities, defends the needs and rectifies the status of environmental migrants. Nonetheless, its application on the ground can be ensured only if integrated in national and international migration planning frameworks that combine both bottom-up and top-down approaches, consider migrants as proactive actors shaping migration movements and policies, and recognize migration as an essential component of human development.

International Journal of Refugee Law

Despite the reality of climate change, no international agreement or protection framework exists to plan for or address the expected dramatic increase in migration. Current international refugee, environmental, and human rights law does not account for climate change-induced displacement and migration, creating legal gaps in protection. This article explores why these gaps persist and seeks to understand the barriers to a protection framework for climate change migrants. If improved protection is to be achieved, then a typology and assessment of the obstacles such an effort faces is a necessary first step. Accordingly, the analytical focus of this article is on the impediments to protection, including whether and how to define a category of ‘climate change migrants’, a lack of political will to create new protection obligations or expand existing legal regimes, and the national security focus that dominates current climate change and migration discourse. Institutional capacity issues, difficulty linking climate change directly to migration, the causal complexity of climate change, and the limitations of civil society in its climate change advocacy further hinder protection efforts. To advance protection for those displaced or induced to migrate by the effects of climate change, however, the emphasis cannot remain exclusively on obstacles. Climate change presents an opportunity for local decision makers and the international community to plan for impacts, fulfill human rights obligations, and take action on behalf of those who are and will continue to be harmed by climate change. This article concludes by proposing a shift in primary focus from the national security of developed countries to the particular needs of migrant populations, which allows migration to be included in climate change adaptation strategies.

Social Science Research Network, 2020

Introduction Much has been said about the link between climate change and migration. 1 While the exact numbers are disputed, 2 there seems to be a wide consensus that climate change is affecting the process of human mobility, whether as a major 'push-factor' or as a significant contributing element. 3 It is also clear that the scale of this phenomenon will be significantmillions will be relocated, in one way or another. 4 International law will have to provide answers to this emerging phenomenon. To date, the relevant international regulatory framework is patchy and certain gaps seem to exist. 5 Notable gaps include issues such as statehood and finance. 6 It is also not clear who is responsible for the damage caused to climate refugees (the issue of causality still acts as a significant barrier), and affected communities do not have the right to seek refuge in a different country, nor are they allowed to stay there legally, at least not on the basis simply that the effects of climate change have forced them from their homes. 7 This short contribution will open with an evaluation of the development of the international law of climate-induced migration. It will explain that despite notable efforts, a regulatory gap still exists. It will then examine a new strategy, one that in recent years has been employed by communities and civil society organisations wishing to force progress in the fight against climate changethe use of litigation. It seems that at least some of this recent wave of litigation is relevant also in the more specific case of climate-induced migration. 1 See inter alia Jane McAdam (ed.) Climate change and displacement: Multidisciplinary perspectives (OUP 2010), Simon Behrman and Avidan Kent (eds) Climate Refugees: Beyond the legal impasse? (Routledge 2018). 2 See more about the difficulty in estimating the numbers in the context of climate-induced migration in Alex Randall, 'Climate refugees: how many are there? How many will there be?' < http://climatemigration.org.uk/climate-refugees-howmany/>. 3 See inter alia Dina Ionesco et al. The Atlas of Environmental Migration (Routledge 2017). 4 According to a World Bank report, by 2050 the number of climate-induced internally displaced persons alone, in only three regions (Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and Latin America) will reach 143 million. Kumari Rigaud et al. Groundswell: Preparing for Internal Climate Migration (The World Bank 2018). See other estimates in Dina Ionesco et al (n 3) 16-17. 5 Avidan Kent and Simon Behrman, Facilitating the resettlement and rights of climate refugees (Routledge 2018). 6 See more in Kent & Behrman (n 5) Chapter 1. 7 Ibid. We will evaluate this new phenomenon and ask whether the use of litigation could be the solution to the longstanding stalemate, and whether some answers will, at last, be provided to the plight of climate refugees. 8 The development of international law in the context of climate-induced migration? The international regulation of climate-induced migration is a relatively new development. Until 2010, the international community was by and large silent on this matter. While climate change was very much at the heart of public debate, the fact that it could lead to mass migration was left untouchedan elephant in the room, whose social and economic implications were almost too big to fathom. In that year, the member states of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) admitted, for the first time, that a problem exists. In the, now iconic, Paragraph 14(f) of COP Decision 1/CP.16, the international community was called on 'to enhance action on adaptation […] by undertaking, inter alia[…] [m]easures to enhance understanding, coordination and cooperation with regard to climate change induced displacement, migration and planned relocation, where appropriate, at the national, regional and international levels'. This unassumingly vague paragraph ignited a process that, 10 years later, has not yet matured into a concrete change in the regulatory framework. Nonetheless there have been important stepping-stones including non-binding declarations such as the New York Declaration for Refugees and Migrants (2016) and the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration (2018). These are important: they kept the plight of climate refugees at the heart of the political debate, and inspired further action by states and regional frameworks. 9 At the same time, it is important to recognise these declarations for what they are-mere political statements that mostly reconfirmed what many have regarded as obvious: climate change is affecting human mobility, and those displaced by climate-related events will require protection. In normative terms, they simply do not add much to the debate. Other important developments from the previous decade include the adoption of the Nansen Protection Agenda (2015) and the establishment of a UNFCCC-led Taskforce on Displacement (2015). These two steps may provide real utility in the future: the Nansen Protection Agenda 8 The reader should be aware that our use of the term 'climate refugee' is controversial. We explain it at great length in Kent & Behrman (n 5), chapter 2. 9 See for example Beatriz Felipe Perez, 'Climate migration and its inclusion in Mexican legal and political frameworks' in Simon Behrman and Avidan Kent (eds) Climate refugees: global, local and critical approaches (CUP forthcoming).

North Carolina Journal of International Law, 2019

discussing how climate change has a varied impact on migration and spans a broad array of migration choices).