E.g., 10/04/2023
E.g., 10/04/2023
Climate Change

Climate Change

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Climate change is a driver of human migration that many people expect will dwarf all others in its impact. While the effects of climate change on migration have generated significant attention, some of the most commonly repeated predictions of the numbers of people who will be displaced are not informed by an understanding of migration dynamics. Displacement is almost always a result of a complex mix of factors; people adapt to changes and governments (and a few other powerful actors) can influence what kind of movements take place in response to environmental changes.

Recent Activity

Multimedia
September 26, 2023
Migration, Disasters, and Climate Change in Eastern Africa
Cover image for Green Reintegration
Policy Briefs
September 2023
Green Reintegration: Supporting Returning Migrants in Climate-Affected Communities
By  Camille Le Coz and Ravenna Sohst
Multimedia
September 19, 2023
Trapped Populations: When Climate Migration Isn’t Possible
Multimedia
July 27, 2023
Displacement in the Sahel: Exploring Rising Migration and Responses in West Africa
A man pulls a boat on the low-lying Carteret Islands in Papua New Guinea
Articles
July 20, 2023
Who Counts as a Climate Migrant?
By Kerilyn Schewel
Multimedia
July 12, 2023
Climate Migration 101
Multimedia
June 8, 2023
Before the Storm: Getting Out in Front of Climate Displacement
Cover image for Migration Narratives in Northern Central America
Reports
June 2023
Migration Narratives in Northern Central America: How Competing Stories Shape Policy and Public Opinion in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, Alejandra Lopez and Alejandro Vélez Salas

Pages

Cover image for Green Reintegration
Policy Briefs
September 2023
Green Reintegration: Supporting Returning Migrants in Climate-Affected Communities
By  Camille Le Coz and Ravenna Sohst
Cover image for Migration Narratives in Northern Central America
Reports
June 2023
Migration Narratives in Northern Central America: How Competing Stories Shape Policy and Public Opinion in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Natalia Banulescu-Bogdan, Aaron Clark-Ginsberg, Alejandra Lopez and Alejandro Vélez Salas
Cover image for Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean
Reports
March 2023
Migration, Integration, and Diaspora Engagement in the Caribbean: A Policy Review
By  Valerie Lacarte, Jordi Amaral, Diego Chaves-González, Ana María Sáiz and Jeremy Harris
Cover image for Financing Responses to Climate Migration
Reports
November 2022
Financing Responses to Climate Migration: The Unique Role of Multilateral Development Banks
By  Lawrence Huang, Ravenna Sohst and Camille Le Coz
Cover image for Migración de Huehuetenango en el Altiplano Occidental de Guatemala
Reports
March 2022
Migración de Huehuetenango en el Altiplano Occidental de Guatemala: Respuestas de políticas públicas y desarrollo
By  Andrew Selee, Luis Argueta and Juan José Hurtado Paz y Paz
Cover image for Migration from Huehuetenango in Guatemala’s Western Highlands
Reports
March 2022
Migration from Huehuetenango in Guatemala’s Western Highlands: Policy and Development Responses
By  Andrew Selee, Luis Argueta and Juan José Hurtado Paz y Paz
Cover image for The Complex Motivations and Costs of Central American Migration
Reports
November 2021
Charting a New Regional Course of Action: The Complex Motivations and Costs of Central American Migration
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, Rossella Bottone, Jaret Waters, Sarah Williams, Ashley Louie and Yuehan Wang
How Will International Migration Policy and Sustainable Development Affect Future Climate-Related Migration?
Reports
December 2020
How Will International Migration Policy and Sustainable Development Affect Future Climate-Related Migration?
By  Robert McLeman

Pages

A man pulls a boat on the low-lying Carteret Islands in Papua New Guinea
Feature
July 20, 2023
Who Counts as a Climate Migrant?

Researchers often seek to predict how many people will move due to climate change, but beyond the inherent forecasting difficulties, their work is complicated by the fact that terms such as "climate migrant" are nebulous and migration drivers are often multifaceted. Instead, this article explains why analysts might ask how climate change will reshape existing patterns of migration and immobility.

Women with children and a donkey in Ethiopia.
Feature
March 1, 2023
Efforts to Manage Climate Migration Are Slowly Growing, but Their Focus Is Often Indirect

Can haphazard, unplanned climate displacement be turned into voluntary, safe migration? Projects explicitly aimed at addressing internal and international climate migration are rare, but development organizations increasingly are turning their attention to supporting them. This article catalogues climate mobility projects around the world and examines their primary goals, whether to support the movement or stay of people or help at destination.

A displaced woman walks with a jerrycan of water in Somalia.
Feature
January 18, 2023
Amid Record Drought and Food Insecurity, East Africa’s Protracted Humanitarian Crisis Worsens

Catastrophic drought has thrust tens of millions of people in East Africa into acute food insecurity, raising the specter of famine. The extreme weather crisis, which follows years of conflict and economic disaster, has compounded long-running humanitarian challenges affecting refugees and internally displaced people, as this article explains.

Image of indigenous Warao in a canoe on the Kaituma River in Guyana
Feature
July 27, 2022
Discovery of Oil Could Bring Migrant Labor Opportunities and Climate Displacement Challenges for Guyana

The discovery of massive oil reserves off the Guyana coast will bring immense riches to this small South American country. This windfall will draw migrant labor and the return of some diaspora members to Guyana, which has one of the world's highest emigration rates. It also could accelerate climate displacement in a country where 90 percent of the population lives in coastal areas below the sea level. This article explores the changes ahead.

People pulling vehicles from a flooded road in an Afghan village
Feature
June 29, 2022
Climate Change Compounds Longstanding Displacement in Afghanistan

Climate change is compounding the drivers of displacement and international migration in Afghanistan, which has one of world's largest populations of internally displaced persons (IDPs). This article examines the climate and environmental linkages to displacement and migration, as well as the policy approaches taken by the Taliban and predecessor governments, particularly as they relate to water resources management.

Pages

archive >
Photo of a group of women collecting water from a riverbed in Kenya
Commentaries
October 2022
Why Financing Responses to Climate Migration Remains a Challenge
By  Lawrence Huang
Image of Central American migrant caravan passing through Chiapas, Mexico
Commentaries
April 2022
Beyond the Border: Opportunities for Managing Regional Migration between Central and North America
By  Ariel G. Ruiz Soto and Andrew Selee
Video, Audio
September 26, 2023

Migration, Disasters, and Climate Change in Eastern Africa

During this MPI webinar, climate experts and regional authorities outline the challenges related to climate change and human mobility that local communities, national governments, and the IGAD region are confronting.

Expert Q&A, Audio
September 19, 2023

Trapped Populations: When Climate Migration Isn’t Possible

Why do people stay in places where their homes, livelihoods, and their very lives are threatened by the impacts of climate change? Caroline Zickgraf, deputy director of the Hugo Observatory at the University of Liège in Belgium, discusses these so-called "trapped populations" in this episode of the Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast.

Expert Q&A, Audio
July 27, 2023

Displacement in the Sahel: Exploring Rising Migration and Responses in West Africa

MPI Europe Associate Director Camille Le Coz discusses rising displacement in the Sahel, which is experiencing multiple crises, with development economist Alexandra Tapsoba.

Expert Q&A, Audio
July 12, 2023

Climate Migration 101

Climate migration sounds simple. It is not. MPI’s Lawrence Huang answers some of the most common questions around one of the least understood dynamics in human movement.

Expert Q&A, Audio
June 8, 2023

Before the Storm: Getting Out in Front of Climate Displacement

Can humanitarian organizations act before catastrophes occur to mitigate disaster-induced forced migration? Our podcast Changing Climate, Changing Migration discusses this kind of anticipatory action with guests Gana Gantulga and Zeke Simperingham from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Pages

Recent Activity

Video, Audio, Webinars
September 26, 2023

Migration, Disasters, and Climate Change in Eastern Africa

During this MPI webinar, climate experts and regional authorities outline the challenges related to climate change and human mobility that local communities, national governments, and the IGAD region are confronting. The speakers discuss priorities within the region to address climate-related displacement, the engagement of various stakeholders, efforts to facilitate safe and orderly migration, and potential solutions. 

Policy Briefs
September 2023

Green Reintegration: Supporting Returning Migrants in Climate-Affected Communities

Reintegration after return is often a challenge, and doubly so for migrants returning to communities affected by climate change and environmental degradation. This brief explores the emergence of "green" approaches to providing reintegration assistance, including project types implemented to date, common challenges, and strategies for building a stronger case for climate-responsive reintegration programming.

Expert Q&A, Audio
September 19, 2023

Trapped Populations: When Climate Migration Isn’t Possible

Why do people stay in places where their homes, livelihoods, and their very lives are threatened by the impacts of climate change? Caroline Zickgraf, deputy director of the Hugo Observatory at the University of Liège in Belgium, discusses these so-called "trapped populations" in this episode of the Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast.

Expert Q&A, Audio
July 27, 2023

Displacement in the Sahel: Exploring Rising Migration and Responses in West Africa

MPI Europe Associate Director Camille Le Coz discusses rising displacement in the Sahel, which is experiencing multiple crises, with development economist Alexandra Tapsoba.

Articles
July 20, 2023

Who Counts as a Climate Migrant?

Researchers often seek to predict how many people will move due to climate change, but beyond the inherent forecasting difficulties, their work is complicated by the fact that terms such as "climate migrant" are nebulous and migration drivers are often multifaceted. Instead, this article explains why analysts might ask how climate change will reshape existing patterns of migration and immobility.

Expert Q&A, Audio
July 12, 2023

Climate Migration 101

Climate migration sounds simple. It is not. MPI’s Lawrence Huang answers some of the most common questions around one of the least understood dynamics in human movement.

Expert Q&A, Audio
June 8, 2023

Before the Storm: Getting Out in Front of Climate Displacement

Can humanitarian organizations act before catastrophes occur to mitigate disaster-induced forced migration? Our podcast Changing Climate, Changing Migration discusses this kind of anticipatory action with guests Gana Gantulga and Zeke Simperingham from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Reports
June 2023

Migration Narratives in Northern Central America: How Competing Stories Shape Policy and Public Opinion in Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador

El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras have long histories of emigration, but are seeing increasing transit and return migration as well. This report explores the stories told within these three countries about migration in all its forms, how these narratives intersect with (and at times, contradict) each other, and how they influence policy decisions and public opinion.

Pages