Nineteenth International Conference on Interdisciplinary Social Sciences

Abstract

There is a growing body of evidence that suggests that climate change may have profound structural impacts on economic activities, social conduct, and public policy worldwide. The World Economic Forum signals a strong correlation between a lack of adaptation to climate change, large-scale involuntary migration, and state collapse (WEF, The Global Risks Report 2023, p.10). The same report states that environmental and social risks dominate the list of top 10 risks in terms of severity over the next 10 years. (Ibid. p.6) This paper explores the social and political implications of climate-induced migration. To do so, the investigation identifies a selection of the most environmentally vulnerable states, especially regarding domestic and cross-frontier migration. Secondly, the paper explores the political and social implications of climate-induced migration on the domestic and international levels. Third, it sets out to generate some broad lessons and recommendations that can be useful for political decision-makers worldwide. While exploring the social and political impact of climate change-induced migration, the paper addresses the following questions: What are the most environmentally vulnerable countries? What makes them so? What are the primary environmental factors driving migration? How may climate change trigger large-scale involuntary migration? How may it trigger erosion of social cohesion? How may it affect relations among states? Can it lead to geopolitical and geoeconomic tensions? How can the risk of climate-induced migration be mitigated?