Environmental refugees: migration and displacement in the context of climate change.

Abstract

Climate change is one of the main challenges of the 21st century. Phenomena such as sea level rise, the increase of global temperatures and the outbreak of more severe natural events are already threatening several ecosystems. Even human society is affected by these dynamics. Specifically, recent studies have highlighted the influence exercised by climate change over people's drivers of migration and displacement; indeed, there is great concern about the future increase in the number of people on the move because of environmental reasons. This category has been usually referred to as “environmental refugees”, but there are still many controversies around this label. The international community has not agreed over a common denomination for this group, so that there is not a punctual classification yet. Climate-induced migration and displacement is actually a very complex phenomenon, and this aspect makes even more difficult to find an agreement. Environmental refugees also lack legal protection, in particular when they are forced or decide to move across national boundaries. This means that their rights and needs are not protected and this increases their vulnerability. Climate-induced migration is already taking place in several areas, with Asia, Africa and the so-called Small Island Developing States being the most affected. However, also the American continent and the Mediterranean are expected to become major sources of environmental refugees in the future.