Climate change and forced migration

Type

Research paper

Title

Climate change and forced migration

Author

Piguet, Etienne

Year

2008

Publisher

UNHCR – The UN Refugee Agency

No

153

Abstract

The term “environmental refugees” was first coined in 1985 as a report title for the United Nations Environment Programme (El-Hinnawi 1985). It has since been widely diffused in both political and academic circles (Castles 2002). This growing concern of the international community about the consequences of migration resulting from environmental deterioration was reinforced in 1990 by the publication of the first UN intergovernmental report on climate change which stated that “The gravest
effects of climate change may be those on human migration as millions will be displaced” (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 1990, 20).

Citation

Piguet, E. (2008). Climate change and forced migration. New Issues in Refugee Research – United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Research Paper, (153).