The Climate-Immigration Crisis: Recognizing Climate Refugees

Christine Gibb and James Ford explain concepts such as migration flows and ‘climate migrants’ as consequences of global climate change, which is a consequence of globalization (Gibb et al., 1-9; Yayboke, 2021; White House, 2021). In their recent study, they examine the intersections of climate change, migration, and international law to advocate for the recognition of “climate migrants” within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and suggest a new framework for establishing the institutional groundwork for such recognition (Gibb et al., 8-9). Gibb and Ford propose that establishing such legal recognition could create a framework to protect climate-displaced individuals who currently lack adequate protections under international law. The absence of legal recognition not only jeopardizes the security of these migrants but also sets troubling precedents for those who may face displacement in the future (Gibb 2-3 ; Institute for Economics & Peace, 2-4; The Internationalist, 2022; BIermann et al., 405). This paper builds on Gibb and Ford’s arguments, asserting that the UNFCCC should legally recognize climate migrants to ensure they are afforded resources and protections comparable to those already allocated to refugees under international law ( Gibb et al., 9; The Internationalist, 2022; The UN Refugee Agency). Countering the United Nations High Commission for Refugees' (UNHCR) 2019 stance denying formal refugee status to climate migrants, this paper analyzes existing strategies and proposes a legal framework to safeguard the human rights of climate-displaced individuals, underscoring that these populations are real, vulnerable, and in critical need of international protections (White House, 2021; Ionesco, 2019). By examining the evolution of international climate change corpus and environmental law, I argue that climate migrants should be recognized more broadly as climate-displaced people. This recognition acknowledges the forced nature of their displacement and positions them within the scope of existing refugee conditions that necessitate protection ( European Parliament, 12). Consequently, they can be safeguarded through the development of an expansion of the definition of refugee status tailored to their specific circumstances as climate refugees.