Towards a global governance framework: climate-driven migration

Climate-driven migration – the movement of a person or groups of persons who, for sudden or gradual environmental reasons, leave their habitual place of residence – is increasing as a result of the climate crisis. It’s now critical that institutions acknowledge this phenomenon and update their climate adaptation strategies in response.  

This report explores and examines existing research on the driving factors, patterns and consequences of climate-driven migration and its potential trajectories until 2050; generates an empirically-based trend analysis of how climate change is likely to drive population movements; and develops policy recommendations on how the global governance system can be adapted to meet this growing challenge.  

Recommendations, presented at the United Nations Summit of the Future, cover policy, funding and capacity-building and were formulated through secondary literature research and interviews with experts in the field. Recommendations include: 

• Strengthen disaster risk reduction and climate change adaptation efforts to minimize displacement. 
• Enhance data collection on climate migration patterns to inform evidence-based policymaking.
• Integrate climate migration into existing frameworks like the Paris Agreement and Global Compact for Migration. 
• Establish a dedicated global fund to support climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction and sustainable solutions for climate-driven migration.
• Build trust among the international financial sphere and developing countries and prioritize climate finance for developing countries and vulnerable regions. 
• Invest in research and data collection to better understand the drivers, patterns and impacts of climate-driven migration and to inform evidence-based policymaking.  

The report is a collaboration between UNU-CPR and the Geneva Graduate Institute.  

Access ‘Towards a Global Governance Framework: Climate-Driven Migration’ here.