Is Climate Displacement in Legal Limbo? An examination of the protection of climate migrants in international refugee and climate change law

Abstract: This thesis examines international legal protection for persons displaced across boarders due to climate change. Rapid climate change and escalating climate threats are projected to displace up to 2.1 billion people, roughly 25% of the global population, by 2050. This impending mass migration crisis necessitates an evaluation of the existing legal framework for climate migrants and displaced persons. The study examines the Refugee Convention, UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, and Paris Agreement, which constitute key legal instruments in refugee and climate change law. The interpretation and analysis of the conventions are informed by reports, publications, and decisions from United Nations bodies as well as academic and legal literature. The study indicates that a revised refugee definition could provide protection for certain groups displaced by climate change under the Refugee Convention. The UNFCCC obliges the Parties to consider climate change in their migration policies. The Paris Agreement in its entirety is interpreted with respect to the rights of migrants and vulnerable groups and includes binding provisions that can be interpreted as requiring Parties to take actions and introduce policies with regards to persons displaced due to climate change. This thesis concludes that a new treaty regulating protection for persons internationally displaced due to climate change is one of the feasible solutions, given the lack of political will to establish national or regional regulations. However, this process may be protracted due to the politically sensitive nature of migration and climate change in the international community. Regional and national solutions are therefore preferable. Initiatives exist to establish such cooperation, inspiring future regulation of climate displacement.