Climate Migrants and Refugees

THE BASICS

UNDERSTANDING THE CLIMATE

WHO CAN THEY DEPEND ON?

State and Regional Actors

The United Natiions

IDMC

Private Actors

Who are they?

Sources

What you need to know

Climate Migrants and Refugees

9.8

million people

in the first half of 2020 were displaced due to climate changes and natural disasters. This accounts for 5 different countries that make up 75% of the total figure. Click image to find out more

places

Today's current dilemma of facing climate change means that normal environmental conditions are changing for the worst at an alarming rate. With the melting of ice-caps due to global warming, sea-level rise has been taking place, which are affecting many nation-states. Global temperatures are also intensifying at magnitude level across the globe. More and more natural disasters are taking place, cause mass disruption to the environment and also to community livelihoods.

Vanuatu

bibliography1 bibliography1 bibliography1 bibliography1 bibliography1 bibliography1 bibliography1

The United Nations: The UN is an intergovernmental organisation widely known for its many initiatives, conferences, programs etc. that it runs. One of its most notable ways in which they are dealing with the surrounding issues of migration, including environmental migration, is its UN global migration pact 2018. This pact is a new multilateral governing approach to governing international migration, and the way it provides information to the public is through their information data collection. Despite this however, people are calling for more information to be spread specifically to those migrating on different migration routes, warnings on the dangers of certain border crossings, and many more. The UN also has the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is to provide regular scientific assessments on climate change, its implications and potential threats to the future in order to provide plans for adaptation and mitigation options.

Private Actors: There are also many private actors that are actively involved and engaged with the issue of climate-induced migrants and refugees. One such private actor is OXFAM, a non-for-profit group founded in 1942, which is comprised of 20 independent charitable organisations whose objective is to alleviate global poverty through their extensive operations. Despite mainly focusing on alleviating global poverty, they have a campaign that focuses on the impacts that climate change has on poverty. Through this campaign, they have been able to provide information and data on the effects of climate change to those affected, and have called for action in order to aid those who have been displaced because of it. One such action as part of this campaign is to provide finances and resources for people who are being forced to move due to intensifying climate conditions.

The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre: Also referred to as the IDMC, this centre is based in Switzerland and is the leading source of information on internal displacement, and acts as a global monitor for internal displacement. With this centre around, it allows for information to be not just provided to the public, but also to those affected. It also provides information on displacement caused by changes to the current climate. Currently, they feature a project that generates ongoing evidence to improve understanding on disaster displacement in the Pacific Region. It's also generating plans and responses to this climate crisis for internally displaced people affected by it.

State and Regional Actors: Aside from large, multilevel governance and intergovernmental organisations, state and regional actors are also present in the assistance of climate-induced migrants and refugees. Organisations included in this are the Association of Small Island States (AOSIS), the Kiribati Adaptation Program, the Pacific Island Forum (PIF), the Small Island Developing States (SIDS), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), to name a few. A highly active organisation, the AOSIS, has a main focus on climate change, and aims to consolidate the voices SIDS to address global warming, since they are in extreme danger to future ramifications. It is made up of 44 small islands with 5 observer states that abides by the 'policy over panic' rule, which allows members to voice out negotiations on climate change.

A closer look at the situation featuring Vanuatu: One of the critical regions on Earth that are in danger of facing catastrophic consequences is the South Pacific Islands. Within the region lies the small state of Vanuatu. Unfortunately for the citizens of Vanuatu, with sea-level rise due to global warming, their geographical place on Earth could be eradicated in just a few decades experts believe. The whole island itself is only approximately 3 metres above sea-level, and their main source of fresh water is located under the atolls (also known as 'water lenses'), meaning that before they are even erased of the map, citizens in Vanuatu will experience water shortages. Other than the risk of losing its main water supply, Vanuatu is also in danger of gradually facing crop failure, loss of land area and increases in storm damages. For the people of Vanuatu, hope lies among neighbouring governments to provide them with migration and evacuation solutions, alongside the aid of multilevel governance.

Who are they?What is It?

REFUGEES

A person who is fleeing their country and unable to return due to conflicts and/or disaster.

03

ASYLYM SEEKERS

A person seeking international protection or asylum in a country via the submission of a claim, in which they wait until this claim has been decided.

02

INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSON (IDP)

A person forced to flee their home but remain in their country; they rely on their own government for protection.

01

DIFFERENT TYPES

MIGRANT

A person who moves from their home, normally with the intention to settle for better living conditions.

04

Climate-induced migrants and refugees are people who have been forced to, or have decided to leave their home in order to escape changes to their environment due to global warming and increasing changes to their environment, inevitably impacting their livelihood. As a consequence, people are impelled to leave their communities in hopes of finding a better environment that won't disrupt their nature of living.

Return

Places that areVulnerable

At Closer Glance

Using the chart above, we can see that...

1. By the year 2050, it is pessimistically observed that 120 million migrants will flee their homes due to environmental catastrophies enabled by climate change.
2. The most notable regions that will experience this are Latin America, Africa and South Asia
3. To name a few, some of the most affected nation-states are India, Bangladesh, Philippines, El Salvador, and the Bahamas.
4. Bangladesh is already a country experiencing immense environmental disruptions, and it is only getting worse as climate change deepens. Sea-level rise and rising temperatures are already causing fresh-water infiltration, land sinkage, crop failure, storm damage, both flooding and drought, as well as many others.
5. Whereas in places of Africa, they are experience shortages of food due to crop failure from extended drought, as well as increases in heat temperature that make it unsuitable for communities and the livelihoods of civilians who live in them.

Return