The term climate refugee It was coined in 2008 by two researchers, Frank Biermann and Ingrid Boasreferring to people who have to leave their territories and homes because of “sudden or gradual alterations to their natural environment due to at least one of the three impacts of climate change: rising sea levels, extreme weather events, drought or water scarcity”. status of climate refugee however it is not yet recognized under international law (in particular the 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugees), even though the number of climate migrants is constantly increasing and now counts dozens of millions of individuals per year. Most of these actually move within their own national borders, to regions such as sub-Saharan Africa or Southeast Asia.
Why Climate Refugee Status Is Not Recognized
For the Geneva Convention on Refugees 1951the category of “climate refugee” does not exist because it is not based on any norm of international law. In fact, a refugee is someone who has crossed an international border with the fear of being persecuted for reasons related to “race, religion, nationality, membership in a particular ethnic or social group or political opinion”. The climate or the environmental reason It is not included in the text of the Convention. Formally, therefore, the term “climate refugee” is not correct or at least not usable.
On the other hand, if we observe the disastrous consequences that climate change is causing to many populations and countries worldwide, we realize that it could be important to further develop the debate, already open, on the topic.International Organization for Migration (IOM), for example, proposes the term “environmental migrants” to avoid confusion with refugees. Other organizations recognize the link between climate change and migration: the UN, for example, has launched the Global Compact on Migrationa non-binding agreement to address the challenges and opportunities related to migration. And through the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund, a joint regional fund with the IOM and other organizations, has allocated a specific part of the available economic resources only to climate and environment, precisely to address the challenges related to this issue.
How many climate migrants are there and where are they fleeing?
According to the latest report on internally displaced persons, the Global Report on Internal Displacement2023 was the year in which the record was recorded displaced persons internal to various countries: 75.9 million of people. Of these, 26.4 million they abandoned their home due to the consequences of climate change: environmental disasters, sea level rise, desertification.
Currently, most of those who migrate due to climate change, in fact, move within their own country. Country of origin or in immediately neighbouring countries, but in the future there could be an ever greater impact on migration to international level. An interesting point is that often climate migrants or refugees themselves refuse to be defined as such: in some Pacific islands that are already facing the effects of climate change, the local population rejects the label of “refugee”. This is because movements often occur mainly within the same countries or from the countryside to the cities and, secondly, because refugee status entails a series of bureaucratic procedures and forms of assistance that are often not those desired by those who migrate.
What is expected by 2050 regarding climate migration
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) by 2050 the climate migrants could reach between 44 and 216 million on a global level, while theUN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) is more pessimistic: if we do not intervene promptly with adequate climate policies, the number of climate migrants by 2050 could oscillate between the 200 to 250 million. Problems such as drought, rising temperatures and global warming, rising sea levels and food impacts on crops are beginning to spread even in regions such as Europe, where so far the effects have been much lower than in other areas of the world. In fact, especially West, Central and East AfricatheCentral and South AmericatheSouth Asia hey small island states are among the areas most at risk.
The Ioane Teitiota Case
Although the status of “climate refugee” has not yet been recognized in international law, in international jurisprudence we encounter cases that could constitute interesting precedents. An example is that of Ioane Teitiotaa citizen of the Republic of Kiribatiin the Pacific, a state highly exposed to the effects of climate change. In 2012 Ioane Teitiota asked International protection and asylum in New Zealand as the sea level on the island where he lived rose, Tarawadue to climate change put his life and that of his family at risk. However, both the New Zealand authorities and the Immigration and Protection Tribunal had his request rejected and in 2015 Teitiota had received a deportation warrant.
After various degrees of appeal, Teitiota decided to turn to the United Nations Human Rights Committeearguing that New Zealand had violated his right to life by pushing him back to Kiribati. In 2019, the UN Committee, while rejecting his request, considered his concern about rising sea levels to be valid, which could in fact make Kiribati uninhabitable, although in a much longer time frame than the one he feared: 10 to 15 years. There would therefore have been no imminent danger. According to the UN Committee, in short, the right to life had not been violated from the New Zealand state immediately.
On the other hand, the salient points of this case are two: the first is that for the first time the UN Human Rights Committee recognized that the State of Kiribati, with the help of the international community, had to take measures to protect andif necessary, relocate theto its population to manage problems related to the environment and climate change. The second is that it is still recognizedthe connection between the principle of non-refoulement (non-refoulement) and the right to life also with regard to environmental migrations, a right that would be violated if the rejection of a person occurred in a place where the negative effects of climate change could put their life at risk.
Italy and climate or environmental migrants
Precisely based on the UN principle and the case of Ioane Teitiota, in Italy in 2021 a sentence of the Supreme Court of Cassation (n. 5022 of 9 March 2021) decreed that the “constitutive core of the statute of personal dignity” takes into account not only situations such as an armed conflict, but also other situations in which the fundamental rights to life, liberty and self-determination are put at risk and among these is including the case of environmental disaster and climate change. With this ruling, Italy therefore recognizes the importance of offering subsidiary protection to climate “refugees” in cases where their right to life is seriously threatened.
