New Wilson Quarterly Features Expert Insights on Climate Migration

Nov 5, 2021 | Shruti Samala
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The number of forcibly displaced people doubled between 2010 and 2020. The multidimensional nature of climate migration complicates binary classifications such as “refugee” and “migrant.” The words “climate” and “environment” are also absent from the 1951 Refugee Convention. 

We need to re-conceptualize existing normative frameworks to align with the changing realities of migration, says Ferris.

In the 21st century, migration has been recast by globalization. Yet, trade-offs exist. This cost-benefit calculus emerges within the broader liberal paradox, “which pits the need for economic openness and humanitarian largesse against the need for legal closure to safeguard the institutions of sovereignty and citizenship.”