Climate change isn’t just about melting glaciers or endangered species, it’s much more. It’s also about people being forced to leave their homes. One of its least visible consequences is climate migration: the movement of people displaced by rising seas, drought, hurricanes, and desertification. It’s happening now, silently and steadily. Nonetheless, climate refugees are not recognized as "real" refugees under international law, leaving their suffering largely invisible in policy debates. This article explores what climate migration is, who it affects, and what we, as global citizens, can do to help.

Defining a growing, multicausal movement

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) defines climate migration as “the movement of a person or a groups of persons who, predominantly for reasons of sudden or progressive change in the environment due to climate change, are obliged to leave their habitual place of residence, or choose to do so, either temporarily or permanently, within a State or across an international border” (1). This definition is quite broad since it states voluntary or forced, internal or cross-border, temporary or permanent. Often, climate migration is multicausal, as environmental pressures intersect with economic and political instability (1). In 2023 alone, over 7.7 million internal displacements were triggered by climate-related disasters, accounting for more than half of all internal displacements worldwide (2).

Although most climate migration is internal, cross-border movement is increasing, especially where environmental decline threatens food and livelihoods (3, 4). By 2100, one in three people is estimated to live in climate-stressed zones where economies struggle, triggering waves of migration—especially in vulnerable regions like parts of Africa (5).

It’s not just “over there”

Climate change is already driving significant migration across the globe. Across the Sahel region, including Mali, Niger, and Chad, a deadly mix of persistent drought, food insecurity, and conflict is pushing people to migrate in search of survival. In Guatemala, worsening droughts are driving many to head north toward the United States (1). In Kenya’s Rift Valley, rising lake levels have submerged homes and farmland, displacing families to nearby cities that struggle to keep up with the sudden growth (6). In southern Madagascar, years of drought have devastated villages, some losing up to 30% of their population (1). A similar trend occurred in Somalia in 2019, where drought alone accounted for 67% of nearly 700,000 people displaced within the country (1). A 2018 report by the World Bank projects that, without urgent action, 143 million people could be internally displaced by 2050 across sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and Latin America (1).

Climate migration is not confined to the Global South. In Europe, wildfires and floods have forced evacuations and displacement. In 2023, severe floods struck Limburg, Belgium, and Germany, forcing many people to leave their homes temporarily or permanently. These events have since been linked to climate change (7). In the summer of 2024, large parts of Central Europe faced devastating floods that led to mass evacuations and emergency shelters organized by the Red Cross (8). Meanwhile, in France, wildfires in the Bordeaux region displaced 4,000 people who also received support from the Red Cross (9). In the United States, hurricanes continue to drive internal migration in states like Louisiana and Florida (1).

Cities in metropolitan areas in different regions of the world are already preparing for these shifts. Research by C40 Cities and the Mayors Migration Council identifies ten urban areas, including Bogotá, Amman, Freetown, and Karachi, that are likely to receive large numbers of climate refugees over the next 25 years. Bogotá and Rio de Janeiro could experience a threefold increase in climate-driven arrivals (10).

Why “climate refugee” remains an unspoken term

Most governments avoid the term “climate refugee” because it implies binding obligations, such as offering asylum, resettlement, or even reparations for historic emission (11). At a policy level, managing climate migration involves developing safe and legal migration pathways, expanding visa options and adapting migration management to the challenges posed by slow-onset climate impacts (1).

Under current international and European laws, people displaced solely by environmental factors do not qualify as refugees unless they also face direct harm caused by people (11). The term “climate refugee” isn’t just avoided, but it actually doesn’t exist yet. This leaves most climate refugees in a legal gray area (11). The real-life consequences are serious. Without recognition, many lack legal status, services, and housing, and face discrimination and exploitation (12).

Human rights law emphasizes access to essentials such as food, water, and shelter, while environmental law highlights states’ duties toward those displaced but there is still no legal definition of “climate refugee (13). Ongoing political denial and securitization continue to block coordinated, humane responses.

This gap fuels “securitization,” which frames refugees as threats rather than individuals in need of protection, leading to stricter borders, reduced asylum options, and increased surveillance. Political scientist Angela Oels notes this portrayal reduces public empathy and political will to act (12).

The 2010 Cancun Adaptation Framework was the first major international climate policy to acknowledge displacement. It recognized that migration can be either forced or voluntary. This was a significant step towards legalisation for “climate refugees”, because it brought the issue of climate-driven displacement into the formal climate policy discussion, moving it beyond a humanitarian concern and into the realm of official adaptation strategies (1). Building on this framework, the 2015 Paris Agreement led to the creation of the UNFCCC Task Force on Displacement to address climate-related migration, which made recommendations on climate-driven displacement and recognized migration as a form of adaptation (1).

Climate migration happens today – let’s name it to solve it

One of the most overlooked but crucial aspects of climate migration is the role of cities. The solution lies in funding and strengthening local governments, helping with urban planning (1). Although cities generate 80% of the world's GDP, less than 10% of climate finance and only 1.2% of humanitarian funding reaches local governments, greatly limiting their ability to respond effectively. Successful projects, like those in Freetown, Sierra Leone, show how targeted support can address social and environmental challenges at once (14). In Freetown, refugees received micro-loans and training to work as waste collectors, which not only created jobs but also directly contributed to urban sanitation. This approach eases pressure on city services while helping to integrate newcomers.

One of the most effective ways to reduce climate migration is to empower people to stay in their own communities. This requires significant investment in climate adaptation in the countries hit hardest by climate change. This includes everything from protecting farmland against drought to building flood defenses and developing resilient crops (1).

Unfortunately, funding for these efforts falls far short of what has been pledged (1). The UN’s Adaptation Gap Report has repeatedly found a massive funding shortfall (15). The costs of climate adaptation in developing nations are estimated to be hundreds of billions of dollars annually, but international financial flows only make up a fraction of that amount. This shortfall is a matter of justice, as industrialized nations are the largest historical polluters. Closing this gap is critical not only to save lives and protect communities, but also to alleviate the pressure for migration.

Cross-border solutions include expanding humanitarian visas and migration pathways, alongside bilateral or regional free-movement agreements. Return and reintegration policies should consider environmental fragility and offer green job opportunities (1). For example, Brazil and Peru are taking practical steps to address climate migration by leveraging existing laws. Brazil's 2017 Migration Law allows for humanitarian visas for those displaced by natural disasters, offering a legal pathway without granting refugee status (16). Meanwhile, countries in the Andean region, including Peru, use existing free-movement agreements to facilitate migration (17). While these approaches provide flexible, fast-acting solutions for a limited number of people, they are not designed to be permanent or systemic and do not provide a comprehensive legal status for climate-displaced individuals.

From crisis management to global responsibility

Climate migration is no longer a future risk. It is a present-day reality displacing millions across continents. Yet, global responses remain fragmented, reactive, and often driven by fear rather than fairness. The continued absence of legal recognition, chronic underfunding of adaptation, and the framing of refugees as threats rather than rights-holders all point to a deeper failure: a refusal to see climate migration as a human consequence of a crisis largely caused by the world’s wealthiest nations.

But this can change if we act decisively.

This failure is not inevitable. A just and humane response is still possible, but only if we move from managing crises to upholding responsibility. That means recognizing climate-displaced people in international law, expanding humanitarian protections, and creating migration pathways grounded in dignity, not deterrence. It means increasing adaptation finance, especially for cities on the frontlines, and investing in the infrastructure, housing, and livelihoods that allow people to stay, move safely, or rebuild.

The time to act is now. Climate migration is not a problem of the future. It is a defining challenge of our present—and how we respond to it will shape the fairness and stability of our world for generations to come. Let us not look away. Let us recognize, prepare, protect and act. Shall we?

This article is part of The Outside World, ftrprf’s very own research center.

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