The interaction between environmental change and human mobility is attracting global attention, both in policy circles and in the contemporary literature. This introductory essay proposes using the concept of pluralism to explore the multi‐dimensional relationship between climate change and migration and to advance new perspectives and concepts to interpret the emerging theory of adaptive migration. The papers included in this themed section cover diverse issues in this area of research by focusing on the contemporary debate about the ‘migration‐as‐adaptation strategy’. The papers address six key areas: the role of law in dealing with climate‐induced migration, the category of place related to the community of origin and destination, the theme of climate justice and rights, the contribution of international organisations in framing the migration‐as‐adaptation strategy, adaptive measures developed in the Maldives, and seasonal nomadism in the East Sudan. All are quite different, but all converge in their emphasis on the role of the individual, the migrant, and on whether and how state responses are adequate in the progressive concordance between adaptation and individual capability. This introduction raises a set of salient questions that might catalyse multiple new research trajectories over the coming years.

This contribution argues that despite the fact that the United Nations Refugee Convention does not cover persons subject to climate change induced displacement, these people should be protected by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This is the case because UNHCR's own Executive Committee has incorporated the broader African definition of a refugee that does include climate refugees into their protection mandate. We therefore conclude that UNHCR should exercise protection activities over climate refugees to be consistent with the mandate given to this United Nations programme by international law. To arrive at this conclusion we first briefly introduce the question about the protection of climate change induced displacement in the social science debate. We examine the legal definitions of refugees, agreeing with the most common interpretations of both United Nations and regional instruments. We then indicate how, by expressly extending its mandate, UNHCR itself has taken on the responsibility for the protection of people subject to climate change induced displacement. Finally, we report how, despite this mandate, UNHCR is still refusing to exercise its mandate properly, and that if it were to do so, a significant step could be taken in ensuring the protection of people subject to climate change induced displacement.

No abstract

The inventory of climate-related disasters is emblematic of the increasing impact of climate change and the concomitant rise in climate migration risk. It is becoming clear that, in the words of Ban Ki-moon, “no country or city—rich or poor—is immune”. At the same time, the design of normative measures is undergoing a radical redefinition, towards assuming a “preventive” role dictated by the imminent need to give a legal meaning to the uncertainty of this new epoch. The article starts from the recent adoption by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe of a resolution on “A legal status for ‘climate refugees’” to explore the potential role an anticipatory approach may play in shaping disaster-affected mobility regimes. It is timely to reflect on its legal implications by discussing emerging practices and the challenges of a normative evolution, that even if fragile, can be understood as part of an effort to reframe the international legal order towards balancing sovereign and common concerns. By considering Italy’s contribution to the debate, the article sheds light on the role of domestic actors, such as courts and local authorities, as agents for legal development in multilevel environmental migration governance.