Abstract/Summary

This thesis sets out a theory of justice in climate-induced migration and displacement. The impacts of climate change are reshaping patterns of migration and displacement around the world. Extreme weatherevents destroy homes, environmental degradation undercuts the viability of livelihoods, sea-level rise and coastal erosion force communities to relocate, and risks to food and resource security magnify the sources of political instability. The anthropogenic nature of climate change raises questions about our responsibilities towards those affected by climate-induced migration and displacement, and about the institutions we need to discharge those responsibilities. This thesis responds to these questions by critically examining the institutions that structure our response to climate-induced migration and displacement and by articulating an account of the duties that we owe to those affected by it. The account that I set out, which I call the ecological approach, conceives of a just response to climate-induced migration and displacement as consisting in a network of institutions and practices for governing different forms of climate-induced migration and displacement, united by a principle of cost-sharing at the international level. Chapter I introduces the phenomenon of climate-induced migration, surveying the empirical and normative literatures on the topic. Chapter II sets out the methodological approach that I take, which I call the interpretive approach. Chapter III argues against a prominent approach to climate-induced displacement, which I call the unitary approach. Chapters IV, V and VI examine three different domains in which climate-induced migration and displacement arises: climate change adaptation, the refugee regime, and the governance of internal displacement. Chapter VII examines how the costs of tackling climate-induced migration and displacement should be shared between states. Chapter VIII concludes by reviewing the overall argument, reflecting on its limitations and posing some questions for future research.