Climate Change and Migration: From Displacement to Resilience

Climate change has long been part of global discourse, fundamentally altering how countries, communities, and individuals live. Rising temperatures, extreme weather events, and shifting ecosystems are becoming more visible each year.

In response, governments and international organizations are implementing comprehensive strategies through frameworks such as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and the EU Climate Adaptation Strategy (2021). These initiatives aim not only to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but also to help societies adapt to a warming planet.

The evolving environmental landscape is also reshaping human migration patterns worldwide. Migration today is increasingly influenced by changing environmental conditions. This article therefore delves deeply into exploring migration as an adaptation strategy in the context of climate change.

The effects of climate change are now measurable and widespread. Global temperatures have risen by approximately 1.1°C since the late 19th century, with the most rapid warming occurring in the last four decades ¹. Sea levels have also risen by 20–25 cm since 1900, and this rate is accelerating ². These shifts highlight the profound transformation of Earth’s climate system.

While environmental migration is not a new phenomenon—historical cases such as the Irish Potato Famine or the American Dust Bowl illustrate its longstanding roots—today’s migration trends are increasingly shaped by a globalized, interconnected world and a rapidly changing climate.

In 2023, 56% of the 47 million new internal displacements were triggered by disasters. That same year, 7.7 million people were living in internal displacement due to environmental events, although this figure represented an 11% decrease from 2022 ³. These numbers underscore both the scale of climate-related displacement and the potential for mitigation when effective systems are in place.

Notably, environmental migration disproportionately affects vulnerable nations. Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs), and Small Island Developing States (SIDS)—despite contributing the least to global emissions—are often the most severely impacted ⁴. Limited infrastructure, under-resourced governance, and geographic exposure compound the challenges they face. Yet even in these contexts, resilience and adaptation efforts are emerging.

Importantly, migration should not be viewed as adaptation failure or humanitarian crisis. Rather, when properly supported, it can be a strategic response to environmental pressures. Several pathways illustrate this potential:

• Strategic Migration: Movement—whether seasonal, temporary, or permanent—can reduce exposure to environmental risks and diversify household income, thus strengthening resilience.
• Remittances: Migrants often send financial support to their families and communities, which can be reinvested in education, healthcare, infrastructure, and climate-resilient agriculture, enhancing adaptive capacity⁵. Remittances from diaspora communities constitute over 5% of GDP in low- and middle-income countries and even exceed by 20% in climate-vulnerable states such as Haiti, Honduras, and Nepal⁶.
• Another mechanism is knowledge transfer, especially by the diaspora. A formal example can be The European Union Global Diaspora Facility (EUDiF)⁷ funded project “Knowledge Transfer on Environmental Sustainability and Climate Adaptation from the Filipino Diaspora”. Through this initiative, Filipino professionals abroad collaborated with institutions in Palawan, Philippines, to build local capacity in sustainable resource management and climate-smart practices.
• Remote work migration has expanded significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic, enabling many migrants from climate-vulnerable regions to return home while maintaining employment abroad. Recent research⁸ highlights that in Latvia cross-border remote work has allowed diaspora professionals to reengage with the domestic labor market, helping to mitigate the loss of human capital caused by emigration.
• Planned community-led relocation represents a proactive, though last-resort, adaptation strategy when remaining in the area poses ongoing risk. Experts stress that such relocation must uphold human rights and community self-determination—ensuring that affected populations decide whether, when, how, and where to move. The process requires careful planning, including site selection, land tenure security, infrastructure development, and livelihood training, and when implemented properly this can ensure community and identity preservation⁹.

However, another concern is the growing prevalence of climate-induced displacement, which has led to widespread use of the terms “climate migrants” and “climate refugees.” Though, there is currently no formal legal recognition for climate refugees under international law. As environmental stressors intensify, this legal gap could leave millions of displaced persons without adequate protections.

Under the 1951 Refugee Convention¹⁰, a refugee is defined as someone who has a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, and is unable or unwilling to seek protection from their home country. This definition requires a personified persecutor, that is, persecution must be caused by identifiable human actors. Environmental degradation and climate change, while increasingly responsible for human displacement, do not constitute grounds for refugee status under this framework, as they do not involve persecution by a human agent and the environment itself is not a protected category. As a result, individuals displaced solely due to environmental factors fall outside the legal protections afforded by the Refugee Convention, underscoring the need for new or complementary protection mechanisms to address climate-induced mobility.

Nevertheless, proactive policy measures are being explored. Governments are beginning to design systems that help people either remain in place or migrate through safe and legal pathways. Strengthening international cooperation is critical to ensuring these systems are inclusive, rights-based, and adaptable¹¹.For instance, Canada’s post-Typhoon Haiyan immigration relief in 2013, that prioritized individuals with familial ties, offers a precedent for climate-related humanitarian visa schemes. Similarly, CARICOM’s Free Movement of Skilled Persons program, though not originally intended for climate migrants, presents a modifiable regional framework for addressing climate-induced displacement.

Moreover, among the most concerning long-term consequences of climate change is the risk of statelessness. Low-lying island nations such as Tuvalu and Kiribati are at risk of becoming uninhabitable—or even disappearing entirely—due to sea-level rise. If these nations cease to exist, their citizens may lose their nationality, along with fundamental rights like education, healthcare, and employment¹².

This scenario underscores the urgent need for international legal frameworks that recognize and protect the rights of populations at risk of becoming stateless due to climate collapse.

Recognizing the growing urgency, countries and international institutions are beginning to respond to climate-linked mobility. These responses range from humanitarian initiatives to innovative legal pathways. Following the 2010 Haiti earthquake in 2012, Brazil created a special visa program for Haitians, granting legal entry and residency as a humanitarian response to the disaster. This initiative became a notable case of environmentally linked migration addressed through formal legal pathways. Argentina also offers humanitarian visas to individuals displaced by environmental disasters.

Meanwhile, organizations such as the UNHCR and IOM are playing a leading role in shaping a global response. The UNHCR’s Strategic Plan for Climate Action (2024–2030) sets long-term goals for building climate resilience, while the IOM’s Pacific Climate Change Migration and Human Security Program supports island nations in preparing for and managing displacement proactively^{13 14}.

Other telling examples are United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC 1992)¹⁵, a key international treaty addressing climate change by providing and introducing guidelines for emissions reduction, adaptation, and climate finance. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) supports this framework with scientific assessments that inform global climate policy, such as the 2023 Sixth Assessment Report¹⁶. Complementing these efforts, the EU Climate Adaptation Strategy (2021)¹⁷ enhances climate resilience in Europe through data-driven adaptation, nature-based solutions, and financial tools.

Beyond state-led efforts, the private migration sector is also adapting to climate-related challenges. Investment migration programs offering residency or citizenship in exchange for significant financial contributions are increasingly targeting individuals from climate-vulnerable regions seeking more stable environments. At the same time, some small island nations are leveraging these programs to fund climate adaptation efforts, such as:

• Nauru has considered offering citizenship in exchange for investment as a way to finance national resilience projects¹⁸.
• The Marshall Islands is exploring similar strategies, blending immigration policy with climate finance¹⁹.

Furthermore, Antigua & Barbuda, St. Kitts & Nevis and Dominica offer investment options that support renewable energy, climate resilience, and sustainable agriculture. In New Zealand, residency pathways are linked to investment in environmentally sustainable businesses, and Canada’s Start-Up Visa indirectly supports climate innovation through clean-tech entrepreneurship. Panama offers friendly nation residency options that attract investors to eco-tourism and sustainable land use. Meanwhile, Singapore and the United Arab Emirates are building long-term residency schemes that reward innovation and investments in green technology and low-carbon urban infrastructure. These examples show how the private migration sector can play a key role in connecting capital mobility with climate adaptation, offering both governments and globally mobile individuals new avenues to contribute to environmental sustainability and long-term resilience.

Climate change is transforming our world in profound ways, with migration emerging as both a reflection of this transformation and a powerful adaptive strategy. While significant challenges remain, particularly for vulnerable communities at the frontlines of climate impacts, there is reason for cautious optimism in the evolving responses across sectors.

Diaspora communities are central to this transformation. Financial remittances—often exceeding 5% of GDP in low- and middle-income countries and over 20% in highly exposed states—support education, infrastructure, and climate-resilient development. Beyond remittances, diaspora-led knowledge transfer initiatives, such as the EUDiF program in the Philippines, demonstrate how transnational expertise can strengthen local adaptation efforts.

Additionally, remote work has emerged as a flexible adaptation tool, allowing migrants to return to vulnerable home regions while maintaining income from abroad, thereby supporting families and contributing to local economies. Community-led relocation offers another vital pathway; when grounded in self-determination and careful planning, it preserves cultural identity and enhances long-term resilience.

Meanwhile, the private migration sector is playing an increasingly important role. Investment migration programs are being adapted to fund national climate responses in countries like Nauru and the Marshall Islands. Other programs—such as those in Canada, New Zealand, and the Caribbean—link residency or citizenship to investment in sustainable development, illustrating how migration policy can effectively align with climate finance objectives.

Through the integration of traditional governance structures with market-based mechanisms and inclusive legal frameworks, migration can be reconceptualized from a mere symptomatic response to climate stressors into a potent strategic approach that fosters resilience, enhances stability, and facilitates sustainable development.

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