Climate migration

Climate migration is human movement influenced by climate-related changes or hazards, including drought, flooding, and sea-level rise. It includes movement within countries and across borders, whether temporary or permanent.

Environmental migration: Human movement influenced by environmental change or environmental hazards. This broader concept includes climate-related movement alongside migration driven by other environmental pressures.
Internal displacement: The forced movement of people within their own country's borders. Many people displaced by climate-related hazards move within their country rather than across borders.
Pacific Islands: An island region of the Pacific Ocean containing diverse nations, territories, and communities. Sea-level rise and coastal hazards have made mobility and relocation central concerns for some island communities.
Refugee: A person who meets the legal definition of refugee under international or relevant regional law. Climate hazards alone do not generally satisfy the 1951 Refugee Convention definition.
Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre: An organization that monitors and analyzes internal displacement worldwide. Its disaster displacement data help quantify movement after climate-related hazards.
Displacement: Involuntary movement from a home or community, often caused by conflict, disasters, or development projects. Sudden climate hazards can force people from home without giving them meaningful choice.
Loss and damage: The harmful effects of climate change that cannot be avoided through mitigation or adaptation. Migration can be a response to climate losses, while movement itself may create further losses.
Carteret Islands: A low-lying island group in Papua New Guinea exposed to coastal erosion and saltwater intrusion. Relocation from the islands is often cited in discussions of climate-related movement.
Climate refugee: A commonly used but nonstandard label for someone displaced in connection with climate change. The label suggests a legal category that international refugee law does not currently establish.
World Bank Groundswell reports: World Bank studies modeling potential internal climate migration in selected regions. Their scenarios estimate possible future movement while emphasizing the influence of development and policy.

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