Why creating a new legal class of 'climate refugees' is a bad idea

It is imperative that the international community focus on tempering the negative consequences of climate change and developing adaption measures, so that people in the affected areas do not find themselves displaced from their homes and may build their livelihoods.

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As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its sixth assessment report in March 2023, global attention has turned, even more strongly than before, to the effects of climate change on humanity. The possibility of mass migration towards the so-called Global North is increasingly being mentioned as a consequence of drought, floods and natural degradation stemming from climate change.

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As Adam Reuben and I argue in a recent short paper, creating new legal grounds for 'climate refugees' would be as ill-advised as beginning preparations for mass population movements due to the degradation of the environment. The 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees does not include changes in the climate as a grounds of persecution of individuals.

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Instead of starting preparations for climate-induced cross-border population movements, governments need to engage in building resilience against environmental shocks and the progressive degradation of the environment, as well as, of course, reduce the speed of global warming.

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