Climate migration has often been framed as an issue of “climate refugees” moving from the global south to the global north. Setting aside the problematic aspects of the “refugee” term, an extensive literature examines international south‐to‐north migration from a justice perspective., using historical structural and colonial/neo-colonial perspectives. Superimposing climate change on this, the existing justice issues remain, but the historical impact of emissions in the global north on citizens of the global south – in terms of loss and damage from extreme events, declining crop yields, the impacts of extreme heat, etc. – renders the justice aspects of migration and displacement even starker. This chapter proposes to explore these issues for the case of international migration from West Africa and Central America and illustrate how a climate justice lens on climate-related migration can help to highlight systems of inequality, under‐representation, and oppression affecting migrants in origin, destination and transit countries.
De Sherbinin, A., Wrathall, D., Adamo, S.B., Pan-Algarra, S., Giacomelli, E. (2025). Chapter 8. Climate Justice and Climate Mobility: International Migration from Central America and West Africa. New York : Columbia University Press.
Chapter 8. Climate Justice and Climate Mobility: International Migration from Central America and West Africa
E. Giacomelli
2025
Abstract
Climate migration has often been framed as an issue of “climate refugees” moving from the global south to the global north. Setting aside the problematic aspects of the “refugee” term, an extensive literature examines international south‐to‐north migration from a justice perspective., using historical structural and colonial/neo-colonial perspectives. Superimposing climate change on this, the existing justice issues remain, but the historical impact of emissions in the global north on citizens of the global south – in terms of loss and damage from extreme events, declining crop yields, the impacts of extreme heat, etc. – renders the justice aspects of migration and displacement even starker. This chapter proposes to explore these issues for the case of international migration from West Africa and Central America and illustrate how a climate justice lens on climate-related migration can help to highlight systems of inequality, under‐representation, and oppression affecting migrants in origin, destination and transit countries.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
