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People on the Move in a Changing Climate pp 1–20Cite as

Regional Perspectives on Migration, the Environment and Climate Change

Part of the Global Migration Issues book series (IOMS,volume 2)

Abstract

The perception that large numbers of people may be forced to migrate due to the effects of climate change has fuelled a renewed interest in the subject of migration and the environment. Recent estimates suggesting that between 200 million and 1 billion people could be displaced by climate change over the next 40 years have alarmed policymakers. Even though such estimates have been dismissed as, at best, “guesswork” by many experts (IPCC 2007; Foresight 2011), they have helped to focus policymakers’ attention on the linkages between migration and climate change. Concerns about the migration-related consequences of climate change have encouraged policymakers around the world to focus more on how environmental change will affect people’s lives and human security. The Chairman of the leading expert authority, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), for example, has talked about the “human faces of climate change” (Piguet 2013). Unlike indicators of environmental health, such as carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions or changes in rainfall or temperature, migration reflects the human dimension of climate change.

Keywords

  • Climate Change
  • Tropical Cyclone
  • Migration Issue
  • Human Security
  • Pacific Island Country

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

Both authors are very grateful to Sieun Lee, Research Officer at IOM Geneva, for her valuable assistance.

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Fig. 1.1
Fig. 1.2

Notes

  1. 1.

    The quantitative analysis was conducted by Sieun Lee and Frank Laczko at IOM – Geneva.

  2. 2.

    2See IPCC 2007.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Migration Research Division, International Organization for Migration, Geneva, Switzerland

    Frank Laczko

  2. Institute of Geography, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Etienne Piguet

Authors
  1. Frank Laczko
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  2. Etienne Piguet
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Frank Laczko .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography, University of Neuchâtel, Neuchâtel, Switzerland

    Etienne Piguet

  2. Migration Research Division, International Organization for Migration, Geneva 19, Switzerland

    Frank Laczko

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Laczko, F., Piguet, E. (2014). Regional Perspectives on Migration, the Environment and Climate Change. In: Piguet, E., Laczko, F. (eds) People on the Move in a Changing Climate. Global Migration Issues, vol 2. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-6985-4_1

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