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The UNHCR’s 1951 Refugee Convention describes a refugee as someone forced to leave their country because of war, violence or prosecution.
The Convention was created after World War II and is still considered the cornerstone for the protection of refugees.
But now, climate change is causing a wave of displacement around the world.
There’s no legal framework that protects or recognises climate refugees as a category in its own right. It might be time to change this.
HIGH AND DRY
A climate refugee is someone who has been displaced by the effects of climate change, including floods, sea-level rise and extreme weather events.
In the last 10 years, it is estimated that 220 million people have been displaced from their homes due to unpredictable and increasingly harsh climate conditions.
Some climate refugees can move within their home countries. But for others, crossing international borders becomes the safest (and only) option.
Given their legal standing, relocating can be a tricky option for climate refugees.
However, some countries are setting unprecedented legal standards to give them new opportunities.
THE TIDES ARE TURNING
Tuvalu is one country that has been most impacted by the effects of climate change. Scientists predict that, by 2100, 95% of the country will be under water.
Despite being labelled as climate refugees, Tuvaluans have rejected this label and advocated for mobility alternatives that protect their sovereignty.
With this in mind, the Australia-Tuvalu Falepili Union treaty was signed in 2023.
Credit: Asian Development Bank/Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
The treaty focuses on ‘in-situ’ adaptation, meaning that Australia will provide Tuvaluans who stay in their country with financial and technical assistance to improve the resilience of their social and ecological systems.
But the treaty also created the Falepili Mobility Pathway, a permanent residency visa that allows Tuvaluans to live and work in Australia should they follow the migration route.
The first group of visa holders from Tuvalu arrived in Melbourne earlier this year.
CLIMATE-PROOFING WA
There are no specific policies concerning climate refugees in WA.
Instead, the state has focused on adaptation and mitigation to climate change, as described in the state government’s Climate Adaptation Strategy from 2022.
First Nations peoples and remote communities in WA are experiencing the effects of climate change most intensely.
Through mutual learning and collaboration, the climatic future of the state can be secured and – hopefully – WA won’t generate any climate refugees of our own.
