Climate Refugees
This will be a page with an overview of some the information and links that I found while researching the topic of climate change, forced migration and the EU. Hopefully this page can be a useful for those who are interested in this topic. Please feel free to send me links or other information on the topic.
You can also read my own blog contributions on my research climate refugees and the European response:
- Climate Refugees – the hour of Europe?,
- Research progress on climate refugees and the EU,
- Not much protection for climate refugees in the EU or
- Climate Refugees: resettlement programmes, something for the EU?
Relevant sources
Organizations and research projects
- ’Future Floods of Refugees. A comment on Climate Change and Forced Migration‘ – a very good report on this exact same issue from the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC)
- Towardsrecognition.org - is one of the most comprehensive websites offering constant updates on the issue of environmentally displaced persons
- The European Union
- EU Policy plan on Asylum
- Climate Change and International Security – a report from Javier Solana with references to climate induced migration
- The Qualification Directive
- The Temporary Protection Directive
- The EU Climate Change Website
- Jean Lambert. Green MEP and Rapporteur on the Qualification Directive has written a report on environmental refugees
- EACH-FOR – EU sponsored research project on climate change and forced migration
- ECRE – European Council on Refugees and Exiles
- Friends of the Earth Australia
- Green Cross Australia on Sea Level Rise and Displacement
- Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC):
- International Organization for Migration.
- IOM Migration Research Series, No. 31, 2008. ‘Climate Change and Migration‘ – a very good report from IOM
- Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). A forum involving the key UN and non-UN humanitarian partners. Some key documents:
- UNHCR
- The UNHCR published in October a policy paper on Climate change, natural disasters and human displacement: a UNHCR perspective. They also have a very good web site with an overview of many papers on the issue.
- ‘Displacement and Climate Change’. Inter-Agency Standing Committee 71th working group meeting. Geneva
- Building a Europe of Asylum: UNHCR’s Recommendations to France for its European Union Presidency (July – December 2008)
- Documents from side event on the Poznan Climate Change Conference. It was called ”Climate change, migration and forced displacement: the new humanitarian frontier?” and gathered many of the leading experts on the topic. You can find the video from the conference and some of the papers presented on the conference here.
- United Nations University
- Policy Dialogue on Environmentally Induced Migration, Summary Report. Brussels
- “As ranks of “environmental refugees” swell worldwide, Calls grow for better definition, recognition, support.“ Retrieved 1 August 2008,
- Anthony Oliver-Smith of the United Nations University just put his presentation on Displacements and Diasporas: Human Rights, Global Climate Change and Forced Migration in the 21st Century.
- Asia/Pacific: High tides, floods, storms force islanders to displacement. Much good research on the effects of natural disasters in this region.
- The climate change – displacement nexus, by Walter Kälin, Representative of the Secretary-General on the Human Rights of Internally Displaced Persons and Co-Director, Brookings-Bern Project on Internal Displacement.
- The Council of Europe
- debated a resolution in the Parliamentary Assembly right before christmas on the topic of Environmentally induced migration and displacement: a 21st century challenge.
Academic contributions
- Black, Richard, Environmental refugees: myth or reality, UNHCR, New Issues in Refugee Research, No. 34, 2001
- Cooper, J. (1997). ” Environmental Refugees: Meeting the Requirements of the Refugee Definition.” N.Y.U. Environmetal Law Journal (1997-1998)
- Castles, Stephen, Environmental change and forced migration: making sense of the debate, UNHCR, New Issues in Refugee Research, No. 70, October 2002
- Gleditch, Nils Petter, Nordas, Ragnild and Saleyan, Ideran, Climate change and conflict: The migration link, Coping with crisis working paper series, International Peace Academy, May 2007
- Gonin, Patrick and Lasailly-Jacob, Véronique, Les réfigiés de l’environnement : Une nouvelle catégorie de migrants forcés ? Revue européenne des Migrations internationales, 2002, 18 2, pages 139-160
- Kibreab, G. (1997). “Environmental causes and impact of refugee movements: a critique of the current debate.” Disasters 21(1): 18.
- Kolmannskog, V. O. (2008). Future floods of refugees: A comment on climate change, conflict and forced migration. V. O. Kolmannskog. Oslo, Norwegian Refugee Council: 44.
- Lopez, A. (2007). “The Protection of Environmentally Displaced Persons in International Law.” Environmental Law 37.
- McAdam, J. (2005). “The European Union Qualification Directive: The Creation of a Subsidiary Protection Regime.” International Journal of Refugee Law 17(3): 461-516.
- McAdam, J. (2007). “Climate Change ‘Refugees’ and International Law“.
- Myers, Norman
- Environmental Refugees: an emerging security issue - conference paper
- Environmental Refugees: a growing phenomenon of the 21st century – conference paper
- Piguet, Etienne, Climate change and forced migration, UNHCR, New Issues in Refugee Research, No. 153, January 2008. Article available here: Climate change and forced migration
- David Hodgkinson, Tess Burton, Simon Dawkins, Lucy Young and Alex Coram. “Towards a Convention for Persons Displaced by Climate Change: Key Issues and Preliminary Responses.“
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- 1990 Policymakers’ summary of the potential impact of climate change (Report from Working Group II to IPCC) IPPC – Secretariat, Geneva
- 2007a Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability – Summary for Policymakers, IPPC – Secretariat, Geneva
- 2007b Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis – Summary for Policymakers, IPPC – Secretariat, Geneva
Important news articles:
There is also a posting at Wikipedia.
Forced Migration, environmentally displaced persons, environmental refugees, climate refugees