Climate change is one of the greatest challenges facing humankind and its effects will hit the most vulnerable persons disproportionately hard. Several millions of people risk displacement due to environmental hazards, natural disasters and climate mediated conflicts, influencing migration patterns across the world. Without a strategy for protecting specifically climate refugees, States risk violating several human rights, which makes the issue highly relevant to the international community. Nevertheless, an intergovernmental strategy for addressing the challenges does not yet exist. This thesis focuses specifically on the European Union’s role in protecting climate refugees. It offers an analysis of the mechanical and attitudinal dimensions of refugee protection in the Common European Asylum System (CEAS) and uses post-colonial theory as a tool for interpreting its implementation. This thesis is written with the purpose of contributing to the discourse on how climate refugees can and should fit in under current EU legislative mechanisms.

L’état actuel des travaux ne rend pas compte de l’ampleur des questions philosophiques et des enjeux moraux suscités par l’apparition sur la scène internationale des réfugiés climatiques. Il est pourtant urgent de leur accorder une protection à travers des accords internationaux. Les philosophes qui se sont penchés sur le sujet ont été induits en erreur tant par la multiplicité des termes employés que leur absence de définitions. Ce travail critique la tendance actuelle des militants écologistes à vouloir englober des populations aux problèmes divers sous le terme de réfugié. Banaliser l’emploi du terme de réfugié n’est pas seulement fallacieux mais également dangereux. A terme, les militants se tourneront vers la Convention de Genève pour revendiquer que les populations déplacées soient considérées comme des réfugiés. Or la Convention de Genève n’est pas un outil adéquat pour remédier au sort de ces populations. De plus, on ne peut élargir le statut de réfugié pour inclure ces populations sans risquer de perdre sa crédibilité et son efficience. Suivre la pente qu’emprunte les militants nous mènerait à accorder le même traitement aux réfugiés climatiques et aux réfugiés politiques, ce qui est une erreur. Notre hypothèse est que les habitants des petits pays insulaires à l’inverse des autres populations ont besoin d’un élargissement de la Convention de Genève. Nous arguerons que nous avons des devoirs et des responsabilités envers eux que nous n’avons pas envers les réfugiés politiques. Pour défendre ce point de vue, il faut définir clairement ce qu’est un réfugié climatique et justifier cette appellation. Nous devrons donc confronter la notion de réfugié climatique à d’autres notions concurrentes. Une fois les termes définis, nous envisagerons les enjeux éthiques à travers le prisme des questions de justice globale. Nous verrons que pour déterminer qui devrait remédier au sort des réfugiés climatique, il ne suffit pas de se référer à la responsabilité causale. Cela nous mènera à arguer que bien que séduisant, le principe pollueur-payeur n’est pas un outil adéquat pour guider la réflexion. Nous serons également amenés à nous interroger sur la pertinence d’une institution environnementale globale. / Current works on the forced migration area does not reveal the magnitude of the philosophical and moral issues raised by the appearance of climate refugees on the international scene . Yet it is urgent to provide protection to them through international agreements. Philosophers who have studied the subject have been misled by both the multiplicity of terms and the lack of definitions. This work criticizes the current trend set by environmental activists who want to include people with various issues under the term of refugee. Trivializing the term of refugee is not only misleading but also dangerous. Eventually, the activists will turn to the Geneva Convention to demand that displaced populations be treated as refugees. But the Geneva Convention is not an appropriate tool to address the plight of these people. Moreover, we can not extend the status of refugees to include those people without losing the credibility and efficiency. Following the path taken by activists would lead us to give equal treatment to climate refugees and political refugees, which is a mistake. Our hypothesis is that the inhabitants of small island countries, in contrast to other populations require a broadening of the Geneva Convention. We shall argue that we have duties and responsibilities to them that we do not have to political refugees. To defend this view, we must clearly define what a climate refugee is and justify this term. We must therefore confront the notion of climate refugee to other competing concepts. Once the terms are defined, we will consider the ethical issues through the prism of global justice issues. We will see that it is not enough to refer to causal responsibility to determine the members who should address the plight of climate refugees. This will lead us to argue that although attractive, the polluter pays principle is not an appropriate tool to guide our reflection. We will also be led to question the relevance of a global environmental institution.

The nexus between migration and climate change is a topic that has received growing attention in both policymaking and mainstream media. While it has long been acknowledged that gender shapes the migratory process and the impacts of climate change are gendered, most discussions concerning migration and climate change have failed to incorporate a gender perspective into their analysis. At the same time, the international community, through the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and other initiatives, has committed itself to eradicating gender inequality. This has resulted in more institutions incorporating gender into their analyses of migration and climate change. While these commitments to developing a more nuanced understanding of migration in the context of climate change have been welcomed, it has been questioned how these institutions incorporate gender in their analyses and how this in turn impacts climate change adaptation efforts and migration policy. The aim of this study is to investigate how the relationship between gender, migration, and climate change is articulated in discourses at the level of international institutions, analyzing these discourses through a decolonial perspective. Using critical discourse analysis, the empirical material analyzed includes reports from international institutions that discuss migration and climate change. The findings suggest that the selected institutions tend to treat gender as a variable and focus on measurable, material impacts. While there is a possible discursive shift towards a more intersectional understanding of gender and social inequality, women are often perceived as an inherently vulnerable group. This feeds into a wider ‘feminization of vulnerability’ discourse that is present in climate change studies. An additional finding is migration is optimistically framed as a means of empowerment for women. This empowering discourse tends to promote individual agency over structural changes when it comes to climate change, aligning itself with neoliberal discourses and potentially obscuring larger questions pertaining to climate and mobility justice.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-03-15T19:33:46Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Heyd Fernandes Mas.pdf: 1079752 bytes, checksum: 82eab0a040cdf6cd44d66e0397301819 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2011-08-29 / Droughts, floods, severe storms, melting ice caps and consequent rise in sea level are some of the consequences of climate change. Concerning the human side of the climate change, some experts estimate that 200 million to 250 million people will be forced off their land by mid-century and the European Union itself has already established that migration pressure will increase substantially due to this issue. Considering this scenario, it becomes urgent that the rights of thousands of individuals and groups of people displaced by the climate change be recognized. Nowadays, there is no framework convention able to provide protection and assistance for those affected populations. In fact, this new category of climate or environmental misallocated persons, refugees or migrants seems to be problematic and controversial. Two different options are presented as a viable legal solution for this impasse: the first one would be to consider them as a type of refugee in this sense the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees should be reviewed; the second one points to the direction of a negotiation of a new convention, and therefore a terminological definition based on the human rights law or specifically on the climate change by enhancing the international legal mechanisms for the construction of guiding principles to deal with this new category of misallocated people. This discussion, which is blended with the need of deepening knowledge on the matter of climate and international environmental law, is intrinsically related to the issues of human rights and citizenship, expressed, in a wider range global one where it could be named the matter of global citizenship, as consequence of solidarity among all peoples. Even though there are still possible contradictions between the affirmation of human rights and the classical concept of citizenship, the existence of global matters as the climate change must lead to the affirmation of solidarity among all people. / Secas, inundações, tempestades, derretimento das calotas polares e consequente elevação do nível do mar são alguns dos efeitos das alterações climáticas. Em relação à face humana da mudança climática, especialistas da União Europeia estimam que de 200 a 250 milhões de pessoas serão forçadas a deixar suas terras em meados do século e que a pressão migratória irá aumentar substancialmente em função dessa problemática. Diante desta realidade, torna-se urgente que os direitos de milhares de indivíduos e grupos de pessoas que fazem parte dessas populações afetadas sejam reconhecidos. Atualmente, não existe convenção-quadro que possa oferecer proteção e assistência a tais grupos ou indivíduos. Inclusive, o fato é que esta nova categoria de deslocados, ecomigrantes, refugiados ambientais ou refugiados do clima apresenta-se como problemática e controversa. Duas possibilidades bastante distintas se apresentam como solução jurídica a esse impasse: a primeira seria considerá-los como uma espécie de refugiados - neste sentido, a Convenção de 1951, relativa ao Estatuto dos Refugiados, deveria ser revista; a segunda solução aponta para negociação de uma nova convenção e, portanto, uma adequação terminológica a partir do prisma dos direitos humanos ou especificamente da mudança climática por meio do aprimoramento dos mecanismos jurídicos internacionais existentes para construção de princípios de orientação para lidar com esta nova categoria de pessoas deslocadas. Essa discussão, permeada pela necessidade de aprofundamento de conhecimento sobre a questão do clima e do direito ambiental internacional, relaciona-se intrinsicamente com a problemática dos direitos humanos e cidadania, expressados em um alcance mais amplo que o usual âmbito global onde se destaca o tema da cidadania global, decorrente da solidariedade entre os povos. Ainda que possam existir contradições entre a afirmação dos direitos humanos e o clássico conceito de cidadania, a existência de problemas globais, tal como a mudança do clima, deve conduzir a afirmação da solidariedade entre povos.

In the early 1990s the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change predicted that the gravest effects of climate change could be on human migration, as millions would be displaced by coastal erosion, flooding, and drought. Today, this is considered a reality that is coming ever closer. Yet, there are currently no binding international frameworks dedicated to the issue of climate induced migration. In addition, the current regime of international refugee law is woefully inadequate at responding to the issue. Individuals that do not fall under the refugee definition are thus commonly left with the general scope of international human rights law standards, so-called complementary protection.   On these premises, this thesis sets out to examine the circumstances under which the non-refoulement principle in international human rights law could be applied in the context of climate change effects and especially slow onset processes, and how the principle could potentially be developed. Principally through examining jurisprudence concerning the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights, this thesis finds that while there is a possibility for non-refoulement obligations to arise due to the effects of climate change, the precise scope of such protection is unclear. Although case law has emerged and continues to do so, the complex nature of climate induced migration and the undeveloped jurisprudence on this issue leaves important questions unanswered. This thesis finds that there seems to be no obvious response to the question whether climate change is a relevant factor in the legal analysis of non-refoulement claims, and whether it should be. Furthermore, there are great challenges in discerning the required intensity of harm for the threshold to be met and protection to be granted. In addition, this thesis finds that applying the non-refoulement principle in the context of slow onset processes entails several difficulties, particularly concerning the timing and prediction of the harm. It is therefore concluded that, as long as there is no framework dedicated to the issue of climate induced migration, clarity will be much needed in case law as to the scope of non-refoulement obligations in the context of, especially, slow onset processes due to climate change.

This thesis investigates the impact of climate refugees on the real estate market in coastal Louisiana and methods to mitigate entry barriers in safer markets. Utilizing a mix-methods approach, including quantitative analysis of socio-economic indicators from 2005 to 2023 and qualitative interviews with key stakeholders, the research reveals significant disparities in property values and housing trends between coastal and inland regions. The findings suggest that frequent climate disasters may be a significant factor that has led to declining property values and increased financial instability in affected areas. These results underscore the need for targeted policy interventions to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change on vulnerable communities. / Denna avhandling undersöker klimatflyktingars inverkan på fastighetsmarknaden i kustnära Louisiana och metoder för att mildra inträdesbarriärer på säkrare marknader. Genom att använda en blandad metod, inklusive kvantitativ analys av socioekonomiska indikatorer från 2005 till 2023 och kvalitativa intervjuer med viktiga intressenter, visar forskningen betydande skillnader i fastighetsvärden och bostadstrender mellan kust- och inlandsregioner. Resultaten tyder på att täta klimatkatastrofer kan vara en betydande faktor som har lett till sjunkande fastighetsvärden och ökad finansiell instabilitet i drabbade områden. Dessa resultat understryker behovet av riktade politiska insatser för att mildra de negativa effekterna av klimatförändringar på utsatta samhällen.

La communauté internationale considère certaines personnes déplacées comme étant des migrants irréguliers. Cette étude démontre le caractère contraint du départ pour trois catégories de personnes, à savoir les personnes fuyant les conséquences aveugles d’un conflit armé international ou non international, les personnes fuyant les catastrophes environnementales de causes anthropiques ou naturelles et les personnes fuyant une situation économique ou sociale désastreuse. L’approche catégorielle classique du droit international public ne permet pas de garantir une protection à ces personnes. Aucun statut particulier ne leur étant attribué, ces personnes se trouvent dans une situation de vulnérabilité. De quelle manière est-il alors possible d’assurer une protection effective à ces personnes vulnérables déplacées ? Actuellement, la plupart des Etats s’inscrivent dans une démarche sécuritaire, contrôlant strictement la gestion des flux migratoires et appliquant peu ou prou les instruments juridiques internationaux protecteurs. Une complémentarité des différents régimes juridiques (droit international des réfugiés, droit international humanitaire, droit international des droits de l’homme) est par conséquent nécessaire et une interprétation extensive des textes existants est recommandée. Pour pallier les insuffisances du droit positif, le recours à la notion de vulnérabilité, transversale à ces diverses situations, est invoqué, permettant ainsi de dépasser l’approche catégorielle classique. Pas encore reconnue comme une source du droit international, la notion est devenue, depuis quelques années, incontournable sur la scène internationale. Elle apparaît ponctuellement dans les textes conventionnels et est fréquemment utilisée dans les instruments de droit mou. Prise en compte progressivement par les jurisprudences internationales et régionales, mais aussi par la doctrine, elle figure allègrement dans le discours des organisations humanitaires et des médias. Le développement de la notion de vulnérabilité en droit mou, précisément en des lignes directrices garantirait une meilleure protection des personnes déplacées vulnérables permettant de prévenir le déplacement, d’octroyer un statut temporaire ou définitif ou encore de fournir des conditions d’accueil dignes dans les Etats ou les régions hôtes. Ces lignes directrices servant de guide aux Etats laissent envisager par la suite l’adoption de règles contraignantes protectrices de ces personnes déplacées. La distinction entre personnes vulnérables déplacées et personnes particulièrement vulnérables doit également être prise en compte à ce stade. De surcroît, il convient d’engager la responsabilité des auteurs ayant contribué au déplacement contraint ou ayant commis des exactions sur ces personnes déplacées devant des instances judiciaires internationales, régionales ou encore nationales pour lutter contre l’impunité. En conséquence, une réparation juste pour le préjudice subi doit être garantie à ces personnes. / The international community considers some displaced persons as irregular migrants. This study demonstrates that the departure is undeniably forced concerning three groups of people : the persons fleeing blind violence and the collateral effects of an international or non international armed conflict, the persons fleeing man-made or natural environmental disasters, and the persons fleeing difficult economical or social situations. The classical approach of public international law based on distinct categories does not guarantee effective protection to these persons. As no particular international status is given to these persons, they are in a situation of vulnerability. In which way an effective protection could be a guarantee to these vulnerable displaced persons? Currently, most of the States defend a safe approach, strictly controlling the management of migration flows and applying more or less protective international legal instruments. Complementarity of different legal systems (international refugee law, international humanitarian law, international law of human rights) is therefore necessary and a broad interpretation of existing texts is recommended. To overcome the shortcomings of positive law, the use of the concept of vulnerability, crossing different situations, is invoked, in order to exceed the traditional categorical approach. Not yet recognised as a source of international law, the term “vulnerability” has become an essential notion on the international scene in recent years. It appears occasionally in conventional instruments and is frequently used in soft law. It has been gradually developed through the international and regional jurisprudence and also by the doctrine. The discourse of humanitarian organizations and the media often refers to the notion. The development of the concept of vulnerability in soft law, specifically in the shape of guidelines would ensure a better protection of vulnerable displaced persons. In this regard, guidelines could prevent people fleeing, grant a temporary or a permanent status and provide dignified reception conditions in the host States or regions. This instrument of soft law would be used as a guide for States subsequent to the adoption of protective binding rules. The distinction between vulnerable displaced persons and particularly vulnerable persons has to be taken into account at this stage. Furthermore, the responsibility of the authors who have contributed to the forced displacement or who have committed atrocities against the displaced persons should be brought before the international, regional or national judicial authorities, in order to fight against impunity. Consequently, a fair compensation for the damage suffered must be guaranteed to these persons.