Climate Refugees: The Origins of the Term and its Limitations

Climate refugee is a term that emerged to illustrate, recognize, and protect the people who are displaced as a result of human-induced climate change (Del Álamo Marchena, 2021). With the increasing effects of climate change on communities around the globe, especially those already vulnerable, the term is used more frequently in everyday life. However, legally and academically, experts advise against its use, and so the term is mostly used by the media. Even if the media uses the term, it still receives criticism from academic and legal circles as well as NGOs.  The term is considered misleading and lacks the recognition of the matter in several aspects. In this article, the term climate refugee and why it is not widely accepted will be analyzed.

The Origin of Climate Refugee Definition

The first time the idea that someone could become a refugee due to environmental reasons arose in 1985 by the United Nations Environment Programme expert Essam El-Hinnawi, and the term used to define such a person was “environmental refugee”. Essam El-Hinnawi described environmental refugees as “people who have been forced to leave their traditional habitat temporarily or permanently” because of natural or human-induced climate disturbances that risk “their existence and quality of life” (Hinnawi, 1985). However, despite being drafted almost four decades ago, the concept of climate (or even environmental) refugees has not gained popularity among academic, legal, and NGO circles. Yet, the term has gained the attention of the media and the people consuming its content.

Over the years, the term climate refugee has gained popularity in Google searches. It is not surprising, considering that the number of climate disasters, and people affected by them, is increasing every year. This interest is also observable with a spike in Google searches for climate refugees in September 2015. It is when Ioane Teitiota, a citizen of Kiribati, an island nation in the Pacific, was deported from New Zealand. Teitiota sought asylum in New Zealand in 2013 as a "climate refugee". This was the first time when someone legally claimed to be a "climate refugee" (Amnesty International, 2021). His legal claim stated that climate change caused the sea level to rise and made his country unlivable due to environmental degradation, freshwater contamination, and overcrowding. However, Teitiota’s claim to be a climate refugee was dismissed by the Courts and immigration authorities of New Zealand in September 2015. The reasoning for the rejection was that Teitiota’s situation did not meet the legal definition of a refugee under the 1951 Refugee Convention or the 1967 Protocol (Amnesty International, 2021). The reasoning provided by the courts and immigration authorities centered on the fact that Teitiota’s situation did not demonstrate persecution based on “race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion” (UNHCR - The UN Refugee Agency, n.d.), as required for refugee status. While Teitiota’s case was dismissed, the case helped the people affected by climate change and the term "refugee migration" to gain popularity.

Figure 1: Google Search Trends for 'Climate Refugee' (2008 - 2024) by Search Popularity (Climate Refugee, 2024).

The 1951 Refugee Convention, also known as the Convention on the Status of Refugees, constitutes the primary international legal framework for the protection of internationally displaced people: refugees. The term refugee is defined as someone who has a “well-founded fear of being persecuted” due to “race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion”. Furthermore, a refugee is someone who is outside of their country of nationality and is unable or unwilling to return to that country. However, as in the case of Ioane Teitiota, climate refugees are outside of the 1951 Convention's protection. It is evident that the Convention explicitly ties refugee status to well-grounded fear of persecution, and rising sea levels, droughts, or air pollution is not persecution. Moreover, climate-induced mobility remains a very local event occurring within the national borders. Hence, the absence of cross-border movement leads to a lack of refugee protection. Additionally, climate events are still perceived as temporary or gradual, and the Convention does not address such displacements as it focuses on political persecution and conflict.

Why is Climate Refugee Not an Accepted Term?

There are numerous reasons why the climate refugee term is not accepted. Primarily, the concept of climate mobility is considered to be predominantly internal rather than international (Martin, 2019). This is evidenced in the case of Sri Lanka, a small island nation that experiences droughts and flooding in its rural areas. In such instances, the majority of the internal climate migrants are male, and they move to urban areas (temporarily or cyclically) to work, to substitute for the loss of agriculture (Trust and Mombauer, 2022). Individuals who do not cross international borders and seek refuge in a foreign country are still considered the responsibility of their origin country and cannot be considered refugees.

Secondly, climate mobility is not always forced. This is particularly evident in the cases of slow environmental degradation, such as urban pollution. In these cases, the decision of mobility continues to be considered a “matter of choice” (Martin, 2019). Thirdly, the term "climate refugees" is widely comprehensible when examined in isolation as it fails to consider the role of other driving factors for migration. Such as in the case of Sri Lanka, farmers have been moving to the urban areas for employment after the droughts and floodings in the rural areas since the early 2000s (Trust and Mombauer, 2022). The attribution of this mobility to environmental or financial circumstances pressures in rural areas remains ambiguous. Therefore, attempting to define the cause could be impossible and lead to long, exhausting legal procedures that might end up harming the person seeking help (Martin, 2019). 

Figure 2: Number of Internally Displaced People Due to Climate (2014 - 2023) (Environmental Migration, 2024).

The fourth reason, on the other side, is that creating a special climate refugee status might hinder the people in need and weaken the 1951 Refugee Convention (Martin, 2019). It is important to note that not all individuals can prove that their primary push factor is climate, especially those from poor regions whose mobility is caused by different factors. The establishment of a distinct refugee status, outside the parameters of the 1951 Refugee Convention, or the initiation of discussions on its potential revision, could potentially weaken the convention that is already benefiting millions in need. Finally, it is important to remember that the primary discussion of environmental studies and climate mobilities is to invest in or come up with solutions that prevent individuals from being forced to leave their homes (Martin, 2019). In essence, the discussion is not about whether the climate is a push factor behind migration or not, but the accuracy of the term "refugee" in describing these circumstances.

If not Refugee, then What?

The number of people displaced by climate is increasing every year. The year 2024 saw the third-highest recorded number of displaced people due to climate reasons in the last decade. The absence of an accepted definition of international migration caused by climate disasters creates a gap in the protection of the people affected. The term "climate refugees" is a crucial step in raising awareness and humanizing those affected by the crisis. By linking it to a widely recognized legal and humanitarian framework, the term aims to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the issue. However, as assessed in previous paragraphs, it is truly misleading and falls short of explaining the complexity of the issue.

Climate migrants is one of the terms favored by academic and legal circles as it still indicates the role of climate in displacement (Glossary on Migration, n.d.). This term also avoids the legal connotations of "refugee". The term includes both the voluntary and involuntary characteristics of the situation and encompasses the internal and international movements. Yet, the term has met with criticism for its perceived inadequacy in conveying the urgency of the circumstances faced by affected individuals and the absence of legal weight.

Figure 3: Ioane Teitiota with his family (Weiss, 2015).

Environmentally Displaced Persons or EDPs is another term used to define people displaced due to environmental reasons. This expanded definition draws attention to a wider range of environmental factors such as natural disasters, deforestation, or urban air pollution. The term EDPs is also more inclusive in recognizing that displacement can result from both sudden events such as hurricanes and slow-onset phenomena, such as desertification. Yet, this term has faced critiques for its broadness and perceived lack of legal weight.

This existent terminology, including the climate refugees, does not fully address a crucial aspect of climate mobility. It must be acknowledged that not all individuals have the desire to move, and not all do move. This oversight can be attributed to a bias towards mobility in migration studies (Schewel, 2019). Hence, when researching climate-induced mobility, the phenomenon of immobility is frequently overlooked. Indeed, only a small fraction of the world’s population, 3.5 percent, chooses migration (United Nations, n.d.). In climate disaster danger zones, there are individuals who remain unaffected by the typical classifications of displacement or vulnerability. These are the people who choose to stay in their homes, even in the face of an impending and inevitable climate disaster (Boas et al., 2022). Thus comes the climate (im)mobility term. Just like any other term in this article, the term climate (im)mobility has no legal ground. Yet, the term is narrow enough and encompasses all aspects of climate-induced (im)mobility.

Immobility is a term first used in the healthcare context and then in social sciences. In the early 2000s, the term was used to describe the labor market and social immobilities (Gruber, 2021). Then the term was used to illustrate the social up-and-down (im)mobilities in the contexts of race, gender, and class (Gruber, 2021). The term began to be used in migration studies as a result of the increased regulations for international migration and the decreased internal mobility in Western Countries (rural USA in particular) (Gruber, 2021). The specific use of (im)mobilities is to emphasize both the mobile and immobile nature of the phenomenon.

Figure 4: A Central American migrant Caravan tries to cross the Guatemalan border with Mexico in 2018 (Neil Brandvold).

The Danger of a Lack of Definition

The lack of terminology to define a person who has been displaced due to environmental reasons poses a significant challenge. First of all, the failure to create a clear definition makes the monitoring of these people inaccurate. Therefore, it is critical to establish a term that ideally has legal weight and represents the people displaced due to climate change. Climate refugee is a very commonly known term. However, as previously stated in this article, the definition does not properly portray the complexity of the subject matter. The term climate refugee continues to be used because of its memorability and ability to draw attention, despite its inaccuracy. The term indicates that the problem is related to climate, and with the refugee, it indicates someone who is displaced and in need of help. This approach captures the attention of the audience, which is fundamental to the sustainability of media as it is inherently dependent on its consumers.

It should be said that those who oppose the term climate refugee are not denying the fact that the environment is and will continue to be an important factor in (im)mobility. The central issue is not about whether environmental factors contribute to migration but rather the terminology used to denote and safeguard individuals compelled to flee or remain in unsafe conditions due to environmental pressures. The term climate (im)mobility is a more accurate representation as it captures the problem (climate change) and the reaction to the problem ((im)mobility).

The debate around climate refugees is much more than terminology, it also involves deeper questions about global accountability and fairness. Climate change is mostly caused by carbon emissions and exploitative activities of industrialized countries which have disproportionately affected poor communities in the Global South (Kohnert, 2024). Countries in the Global South lack the capacity and resources to mitigate or adapt to climate-related disasters, putting their populations at greater risk of displacement. Governments, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are struggling to address the difficulties of climate-induced (im)mobility through existing policies. The lack of clarity leads to inconsistent responses and marginalizes the impacted people. Developing proper terms is more than just a linguistic exercise; it is a necessary step toward crafting policies that recognize the different realities of those affected. Without a clear, inclusive framework, millions of people risk being left unprotected and their concerns invisible in the global conversation.

Figure 5: A makeshift embankment of poles and sandbags in Soc Trang Province, Mekong Delta, 2019. Photo by Thanh Nguyen (Nga, 2019).

An important feature of climate-induced displacement that has received little attention is the impact of adaptation and resilience techniques in migration mitigation. Communities that experience constant climatic disasters develop local adaptation strategies, such as constructing climate-resilient infrastructure, diversifying livelihoods, or implementing sustainable farming practices. These activities can lessen the need for migration by strengthening the community's ability to adapt to environmental changes. However, these measures are not always available or sufficient, particularly in areas with low resources or minimal government backing, emphasizing the need for both local and global solutions.

With the increasing number of disasters due to human-induced climate change, the number of displacements across the globe will continue to rise. While climate-induced (im)mobility continues mainly at the local level, it will be an international issue sooner than expected. Hence, having more than vague terms, something that has legal ground to protect people if they need it, is very important.

Bibliographical References:

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Cover Image: Ahlefeldt, V. a. P. B. F. (2022, September 27). di01323-climate-refugees-global-migration-ahlefeldt. Drawn Journalism by Frits Ahlefeldt. https://drawnjournalism.com/di01323-climate-refugees-global-migration-ahlefeldt/ 

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Figure 3: Weiss, K. R. (2015, January 28). The making of a climate refugee. Foreign Policy. https://foreignpolicy.com/2015/01/28/the-making-of-a-climate-refugee-kiribati-tarawa-teitiota/

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