In-depth Q&A: How does climate change drive human migration?
The once-stable climate that people have lived in for millennia is now rapidly shifting.
Extreme weather events, such as droughts and floods, are forcing many people to flee their homes.
Meanwhile, in the face of slow-onset changes, such as sea level rise and droughts, others are making the difficult decision to leave in search of a better life.
Climate change can interact with other factors, such as conflict, economic opportunity and politics, to drive migration. If managed well, migration can be a valuable adaptation strategy to reduce peoples’ vulnerability to a warming climate and increase resilience to further changes.
Most migration happens within borders. However, the media focus is frequently on cross-border migration, often framing migrants as a threat to national security – despite the large body of research showing that, in the round, migration actually benefit societies.
Read more: Inside HABITABLE: Investigating climate-driven migration in rural Thailand
In this in-depth Q&A, Carbon Brief explores how climate change is already leading to displacement and migration, what future changes in human movement might look like, and the measures that are being taken to protect displaced people.
Carbon Brief has spoken to experts in climate change and migration, including scientists, lawyers, NGO leaders and communications experts. This article also pulls together case studies from around the world, offering a range of examples of climate-driven migration and displacement.