Climate Refugees Should Be Recognized Internationally. Here’s Why.

By. Jack Campagna

DOI. 10.57912/31216006

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In 2024, 824,500 people were displaced worldwide due to extreme weather events. This number reflects the increasing effects of the climate crisis on displaced people. From rising sea levels in the Pacific to drought in Sub-Saharan Africa, these disasters have forced many to flee their homes. As a result, a new category of refugees has emerged: climate refugees. They have been defined to describe the increasingly large-scale migration due to weather-related disasters. However, climate refugees are not recognized in international refugee law, and numerous countries have no official laws for their protection, leaving many in a state of vulnerability. As a result, given the rise in displacements due to the climate crisis, it is important for climate refugees to attain greater international recognition so they can receive the protection and support needed and rebuild their lives in the face of environmental instability. Such a recognition would be a big step in the moral responsibility that higher-emitting countries owe to smaller, vulnerable countries that are being affected the most. 

Article I of the 1951 Refugee Convention, a landmark document founded after World War II, setting the laws regarding refugees, defines a refugee as someone who is fleeing their homeland due to persecution of their race, religion, nationality, or membership to a social or political group. However, there is no mention of people who have fled due to natural disasters and climate change, nor are they recognized under international law. In addition, many people who are displaced because of climate disasters tend to be internally displaced, which raises questions about whether or not they are considered to be refugees or internally displaced people. With their exclusion from international laws, many cannot access services such as education, healthcare, housing, and employment. Furthermore, it remains unclear whether climate refugees can claim asylum or if they will be returned to their home country. 

With climate change displacing increasingly more people, and with no international laws to assist climate refugees, the international community should recognize climate refugees in the long run due to the growing number of natural disasters and displacement. With the need for more international action to address this problem, addressing climate change should be at the forefront. Despite the lack of international frameworks, there have been a number of efforts to protect climate refugees. The United Nations General Assembly, for example, endorsed the “Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration,” which committed to upholding protections and creating adaptation strategies for migrants not defined as refugees. This compact addresses all dimensions of migration, not just refugees, and includes provisions such as upholding the human rights of migrants, addressing displacement from climate disasters, and ensuring that migrants can access basic services. In addition, the Paris Agreement, which calls on countries to respect human rights obligations to people displaced by climate change, does not provide a legal definition for climate migrants, nor does it formally classify them as refugees. While these steps are progress, such viable protections must be established in international law to ensure a long-term solution and commitment among nations. 

One case in Bangladesh reveals what will happen if no action is taken. Bangladesh is a vulnerable country that is facing cyclones, floods, rising sea levels, and erosion, resulting in mass displacement. The country does not have a framework to address displaced people from climate change, and policies, including the Disaster Management Act 2012 and Bangladesh Climate Change Strategy and Action Plan 2009, do not recognize climate refugees. As a result, they cannot access housing, healthcare, and education. In addition, the lack of law prevents a formal system to help climate refugees, as environmental, housing, and disaster management government agencies work independently from each other to help displaced people. In contrast, the case of the Pacific island nations of Kiribati and Tuvalu illustrate what the international community has proposed to help climate refugees. Kiribati and Tuvalu are facing rising sea levels, intense storms, and erosion, which are already impacting people’s access to clean food, water, and safe housing, and displacing at least 50,000 Pacific Islanders each year. The human rights organization, Amnesty International, has called on New Zealand to create a humanitarian visa for people displaced by climate change as an alternative to New Zealand’s current immigration system, which exempts certain people, such as those with disabilities and health conditions who are vulnerable to climate disasters. A humanitarian visa, which would differ from existing employment visas, would be rights-based and show a commitment from climate-emitting countries' obligations to help climate-vulnerable countries. 

Ultimately, providing international protection for climate refugees will ensure that they are not left vulnerable and that they receive the same rights and safeguards ensured for all refugees. International law, such as the 1951 Refugee Convention, should be expanded to explicitly include climate refugees, and all countries should adopt legislation that recognizes people displaced from the effects of climate change. Furthermore, it is equally important for countries to acknowledge that climate change is a primary driver of this displacement. Addressing the root causes of climate change through adaptation, mitigation, and resilience efforts is crucial to preventing future forced migration and displacement. Moreover, it is the moral responsibility of countries that have historically contributed the most greenhouse gas emissions to play their role in lowering emissions and promote a greener future. Recognizing and protecting climate refugees is not a matter of law—it is a matter of our commitment to humanity.