Migration and climate change Open problem of the status of environmental migrants in national and international law

Abstract

Objectives Trying to answer the questions that need to be asked and for which one needs to look for appropriate answers may be, for example: what causes climate change and how does it affect the movement of people? Who are the victims of changes in nature? Can they be grouped into one category? Who are these people for international law? Is it realistic to grant these migrants a specific legal status that would be the basis for actions to protect their rights and life? Material and methods Acts of international law; thematic studies. Analytical method Results States should seek to reverse the incentives to migrate; it is about pre-emptive actions for places and people who, due to environmental reasons, are deprived of means and the possibility of further existence; there is a need for solidarity thinking about maintaining appropriate living conditions and investing in sustainable development in each area. Conclusions There is a need for: deepening the knowledge about the phenomenon and collecting data; strengthening the pro-ecological policy in connection with the institutional and legal context in order to prevent adverse changes in the environment; strengthening the operational and technical capabilities of state institutions to mitigate adverse climate changes; continue work towards establishing the legal status of environmental migrants.

Keywords

• environmental migrants
• environmental degradation
• international legal status of an environmental migrant
• international law
• environmental migrations