3. Climate Change and Migration

This chapter draws attention to the most important findings concerning climate-related migration. It discusses the etiologic link between climate change-driven environmental degradations and human mobility; it then focuses on the difficulty of neatly separating forced and voluntary migrations. The distinction between climate-related forced and voluntary migrants is ontologically blurred, yet it is of utmost importance under international law. The chapter explains when and how it is possible to talk of voluntary or forced migrations, both mentioning dedicated studies and existing cases of climate-induced migration. Although confined to a national dimension, these cases provide clear examples of the first relocation processes caused by climate change. This leads to the last crucial element: most of the people involved tend to migrate within their national state, therefore not directly affecting international law and relations. The chapter highlights why this element also is of great importance for an international law perspective on the issue.