Climate change and climate policy induced relocation: A challenge for social justice. Recommedations of the Bielefeld Consultation
Abstrakt
This policy brief1concerns those who have already been, or are likely to be permanently displaced by the effects of climate change or as a result of investments and programme activities related to climate policy, and who may require or pursue permanent relocation.2 Though it is difficult to establish precisely how many people have been displaced by climate change and climate policies, the numbers are set to increase, which raises a series of concerns. Some estimates may serve as indicators of the dimension of the challenges ahead.
Between 2008 and 2014, it is estimated that 157.8 million people were displaced by weather-related disasters, and a further 15 million people were relocated or evicted annually in the context of development-based projects (IDMC, 2015; Cernea and Mathur, 2008). Though it is difficult to disaggregate how many of those relocations, evictions and related displacements can be clearly identified as the result of climate change and/or climate policies, there is a rising trend in disaster-related displacement (IDMC, 2014).
It is further acknowledged that climate policies create strong incentives for - often large-scale - development projects to mitigate climate change and to adapt to it. As such, it can be assumed that both climate change and climate policies will have an impact on the future numbers of those displaced by natural disasters and development projects.