Asia-Pacific, Climate Change, Latin America & the Caribbean, Migration Human Mobility in the Context of SIDS and Climate Change

The International Institute for Sustainable Development's SDG Knowledge Hub has published this article as part of a series from our 2022 Global Shifts Colloquium, "Islands on the Climate Front Line: Risk and Resilience."

As the adverse impacts of climate change emerge, affected societies will be required to understand and collectively act upon policies intended to increase environmental and social sustainability. The recently released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group II report on climate change impacts, vulnerability, and adaptation provide a sobering overview of quickly unfolding impacts for society. Based on such understanding, addressing adverse climate impacts may require profound shifts in the (coordinated) actions of institutions, communities, and individuals.

Climate stressors interfere with many of the factors that facilitate a safe, dignified, sustainable life in some areas of the world. Extreme events, changing weather patterns, glacial melt, coastal inundation, and desertification – interact with other factors that affect how well and where people can live (Fig. 1). These stressors contribute to insecurities in livelihoods, food systems, health, social stability, and others that are often considered factors in migration, displacement, and planned relocation. More evidence and scenarios are needed on how these risks interact with other societal processes, and how these interactions play out over time. More evidence and scenarios are also needed on how groups of people may behave and what options can be created for them now and in the future, particularly in space-constrained settings such as small island developing states.

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