Climate Migration: The Growing Crisis and Urgent Need

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Climate change is no longer a distant threat. Its devastating impacts are being felt around the world, displacing millions of people from their homes.
This phenomenon, known as climate migration, is a complex and growing crisis that demands global attention and action.

Climate migrants are those forced to leave their homes due to sudden or gradual environmental changes caused by climate change.
These changes can include floods, droughts, rising sea levels, and desertification.
Unlike refugees fleeing conflict, climate migrants are not currently recognized under international law, leaving them in a precarious situation.

Sudden-Onset Disasters:
- Extreme weather events like floods, hurricanes, and earthquakes can cause large-scale displacement.
- People flee to safer grounds within their countries, but returning home can be difficult due to destroyed infrastructure and lost livelihoods.
Slow-Onset Disasters:
- Environmental degradation caused by droughts, desertification, and salinization destroys land and water resources.
- This makes it difficult for people to sustain their livelihoods, pushing them to migrate in search of better opportunities.
Rising Sea Levels:
- Coastal communities are at particular risk from rising sea levels, which threaten to inundate homes and farmland.
- This can lead to permanent displacement as entire regions become uninhabitable.

Climate migration is rarely caused by a single factor.
Poverty, political instability, and lack of social safety nets often combine with environmental disasters to force migration.
Additionally, quantifying climate migration is challenging, making it difficult to develop effective policies.

The international community has recognized the issue of climate migration, but progress on solutions has been slow.
The Geneva Convention, which defines refugees, does not include climate disasters as a reason for seeking asylum.
While regional agreements have been established, there’s no clear legal framework to protect climate migrants globally.

Climate migrants face a multitude of challenges, including:
- Precarious Livelihoods: Displacement often leads to loss of skills and assets, making it difficult to find new jobs and rebuild livelihoods.
- Integration and Social Challenges: Migrants may struggle to access basic services like healthcare and education, and face difficulties adapting to new cultures and languages.
- Legal Status and Protection: The lack of a legal framework leaves climate migrants vulnerable and without access to refugee protections.
- Psychological and Health Impacts: Displacement can cause trauma and mental health issues. Climate migrants may also be exposed to new health risks in their new locations.

Existing policies like the Global Compact for Migration acknowledge climate change but lack concrete measures to address climate migration.
Identifying climate refugees and developing collective responses for displaced communities remain significant challenges.

India has several initiatives in place to address climate change and reduce displacement risks, including the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC), Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), and National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change (NAFCC).