Climate Change and Migration
New Challenges, Legal Responses and Policy Solutions
19 June 2024
The Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) and the Nottingham Trent University (NTU) Climate Justice Hub, in collaboration with the ICON•S Interest Group on Climate Change and Migration and the ESIL Interest Group on Migration and Refugee Law, hosted a closed workshop on the pressing issue of climate-related human (im)mobility, sponsored by the Socio-Legal Studies Association (SLSA).
The event brought together UK-based researchers, practitioners, and scholars from various disciplines. It aimed to foster collaborative research opportunities, re-humanise and re-historicise the impacts of climate change and forced mobilities, evaluate existing responses to climate-induced migration, and discuss improved future strategies.
The workshop was organised by HRLC member Andrea Pelliconi, along with colleagues at NTU's Climate Justice Hub: Laurence Teillet, Irene Sacchetti, and Luigi Daniele.
Aoife Nolan, Professor of International Human Rights Law and HRLC Director, gave the introductory remarks:
The IPCC noted in 2022 that, “climate hazards associated with extreme events and variability act as direct drivers of involuntary migration and displacement and as indirect drivers through deteriorating climate-sensitive livelihoods.” We are seeing ever more concerning statistics and scenarios that reflect huge numbers of people being displaced both within their States of origin and across borders as a result of climate change and its impacts. At the same time, the EU Parliamentary election results, developments in the US and the swing to the right in many global north host States bode extremely poorly for a just response to migration rooted in solidarity on the part of countries that are currently less immediately affected by climate change. Your conversation today could not be more timely.
Keynote Address
The keynote address was delivered by Ian Fry, Associate Professor at the Fenner School of Environment and Society, College of Science at The Australian National University, Canberra.
Ian is an international environmental law and human rights policy expert. He is a dual citizen of Australia and Tuvalu. He worked for the Tuvalu government for over 21 years and was appointed as their Ambassador for Climate Change and Environment from 2015-2019. Ian is the former UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change (May 2022 – December 2023).
View a recording of the keynote and Q/A session here:
CSO Session
Following a proposed reframing of the migration debate around the idea of a 'right to move', participants broke into small groups and discussed ways that this might be efficiently communicated. The session was moderated by Sarker Shams Bin Sharif from the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants.
Paper Presentations
Participants engaged in small group workshops that included short presentations and discussions on a variety of themes. These themes reflected the diversity and richness of the work presented and discussed at the workshop. The themes included:
- the European Union, Law of the Sea and Legal Theory;
- Postcoloniality and the Global North-Global South Divide;
- Domestic and Regional Approaches; and
- Human Rights Issues in Climate-related Mobility.
Presenters included:
- Thekli Anastasiou (University of Surrey)
- Indira Boutier (Glasgow Caledonian University)
- Jessica Drew (Edge Hill University)
- Carla Field (University of Leicester)
- Aravind Ganesh (University of Sussex)
- Carmen Pérez González (Universidad Carlos III de Madrid & University College London)
- Ben Hudson (University of Exeter)
- Vicky Kapogianni (University of Reading)
- Nikolas Keckhut (Strasbourg University & Jagiellonian University)
- Szymon Kucharski (Jagiellonian University)
- Monica Namanya (University of Galway)
- Leah Owen (Swansea University)
- Himani Pasricha (University College Dublin)
- Irene Sacchetti (Nottingham Trent University)
- KMS Tareq (SOAS University of London)
View the full programme