Climate migrant

rdf:langString Climate migrant

rdf:langString Climate migrants are a subset of environmental migrants who were forced to flee "due to sudden or gradual alterations in the natural environment related to at least one of three impacts of climate change: sea-level rise, extreme weather events, and drought and water scarcity." Climate change is often described as a threat multiplier that compounds crises over time and space. The United Nations Global Compact on Refugees states that “while not in themselves causes of refugee movements, climate, environmental degradation, and natural disasters increasingly interact with the drivers of refugee movements.” Still, climate migration relates to matters of political instability, conflict, and national security. First, displaced people may be relocated to regions geographically vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Second, there are both short- and long-term effects of climate change. The cumulative impact of longer-term effects may lead to political conflict, insurrection, poverty, and other socioeconomic disparities. Similar scenarios are already playing out with the Arab Spring, food shortages, and consequent political pushback. Global crises compounded by climate change will likely increase demand for military and humanitarian assistance. More research is needed to assess the linkages between these complex issues so that governments and international regimes can effectively address them in conversation with one another as opposed to in isolation. As of 2017, there was no standard definition of a climate refugee in international law. However, an article in the UN Dispatch noted that "people who have been uprooted because of climate change exist all over the world — even if the international community has been slow to recognize them as such."