A review of climate change-induced migration

Abstract

Humanity has been in constant motion since its emergence. The process of change and mobility, defined as "migration," is based on many economic, social, cultural, and political reasons. It is possible to count environmental issues among the reasons for migration. Due to climate change, one of the most critical global problems, climate migration has started. This link between the environment and migration has been exacerbated by climate change, which might have far-reaching consequences for millions of people. This review collected information about climate migration, climate change, global migrations, and their results; causes, results, and solutions to this problem are sought. This study focuses on the time, spatial, and severity dimensions that were crucial to understanding global problems.

Full text

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Review article
A review of climate change-induced migration
Abuzer ÇELEKLİ1,2,*, Sidar YAYGIR1, Özgür Eren ZARİÇ1
1Deparmnet of Biology, Faculty of Art and Science, Gaziantep University, Gaziantep, Turkey
2Gaziantep University, Environmental Research Center (GÜÇAMER), Gaziantep, Turkey
*Corresponding author e-mail: celekli.a@gmail.com
Abstract: Humanity has been in constant motion since its emergence. The process of
change and mobility, defined as “migration,” is based on many economic, social, cultural,
and political reasons. It is possible to count environmental issues among the reasons for
migration. Due to climate change, one of the most critical global problems, climate
migration has started. This link between the environment and migration has been
exacerbated by climate change, which might have far-reaching consequences for millions
of people. This review collected information about climate migration, climate change,
global migrations, and their results; causes, results, and solutions to this problem are
sought. This study focuses on the time, spatial, and severity dimensions that were crucial to
understanding global problems.
Keywords: Climate Migration, Climate change, Migration, Sustainability.
Citation: Çelekli, A., Yaygır, S., & Zariç, Ö. E. (2023). A review of climate change-
induced migration. Acta Biologica Turcica, 36(2), A3:1-11.
Introduction
Climate and migration, two factors essential to
comprehending human history, are important research
subjects in evolutionary anthropology (Moore &
Wesselbaum, 2022). Both of these factors have been the
focus of research for decades. Migratory patterns also play
an essential role in comprehending population structure
and gene flow. Genetic research has been combined with
information from languages and archaeology to
reconstruct the historical migration paths of people
worldwide. Migration studies may also be found in
various other areas of the social sciences, such as
sociology, geography, demography, history, economics,
and political science (Hunter et al., 2015). This kind of
movement is also called migration or dispersal, and it
happens when a person moves from one place to another
where they usually live. This definition focuses on the
person, even though we know that people often move with
others and that, at the population level, the movement of
many people from one place to another can be seen as
mass migration. Humans, like many other organisms,
migrate in search of better living conditions, a more
favorable climate, or just a change of scenery (Saltré et al.,
2015). In wealthy nations during the past 30 years,
migration has been the primary driver of population
expansion (Götmark et al., 2018). The issue of climate
refugees, which has surfaced in recent years along with the
environmental deterioration brought on by climate
change, appears to be heading toward becoming one of the
most significant humanitarian disasters of our time
(Dingle & Drake, 2007).
On the other hand, one of the most significant issues
restricting study in this area is the international conceptual
and legal ambiguities, policy shortcomings, and the
challenges experienced by governments in monitoring and
recording data on "environmental refugees" and "climate
refugees" (Georgeson et al., 2017). In other words,
accepting the idea of an environmental refugee and

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clarifying the terms "environmental refugee" and "climate
refugee" raises a variety of issues since it might entail
accepting blame for the mass forced movement of people
(Cooper, 2012). One of the two opposing viewpoints on
environmental migration holds that weighing the risks of
climate change in the decision to move is sufficient;
furthermore, some immovable factors prevent people from
staying in their homes, such as customs, environmental
interactions, family structures, cultural traits, and
demographic patterns. This study examines the concept of
climate migration from a variety of angles by comparing
various viewpoints on how the environment is degraded as
a result of short- or long-term extreme weather events
brought on by climate change, as well as various points of
view and perspectives from the literature (Saltré et al.,
2015; Cianconi et al., 2020). As a result, it has been
determined that migration brought on by climate change
will impact the whole planet; however, the severity of this
impact will vary depending on socioeconomic conditions.
In this context, human mobility is less in countries with
sufficient economic power, effective adaptation policies,
and political stability because these countries are less
vulnerable to the risks of climate change; on the other
hand, human mobility potential increases because of the
rise in socioeconomic stress (Agrawal, 2008). On the other
hand, the uncertainty of the international legal definition
of the term "environmental refugee" and the absence of
legal status of protection may cause many international
legal conflicts in the future, notably in human rights
(Piguet et al., 2011).
Climate Change
Although climate change and global warming are used
interchangeably, they have different meanings. Global
warming is defined as an average increase in the
temperature of the atmosphere near the earth's surface and
the troposphere; Climate change refers to any significant
difference in climate measurements (eg, temperature,
precipitation, or wind) that persists over a long period
(decades or longer) (Nda et al., 2018).
Based on the most recent data available from 1999 to
2018, Figure 1 shows how schools and districts are
affected by weather-related loss events (storms, floods,
heat waves, etc.) in the 2020 Global Climate Risk Index
(Greenwatch, 2020).
Figure 1. Climate Risk Index 2020 from 1999 to 2018 (Greenwatch, 2020).
Climate Migration
During the post-industrial revolution period,
environmental changes took on a new dimension. In this
process, the destruction caused by human activities has
revealed local environmental problems and problems that
have begun to be effective on a global scale (Mansoor et
al., 2022). Problems such as pollution at the local level and
the depletion of natural resources; At the global level, as a

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result of issues such as ocean acidification, desertification,
deforestation, loss of fertile lands, reduction of biological
diversity, and global climate change, people seeking
livable areas and consumable resources have begun to
migrate in line with the results of the changing climate
(Brereton, 2022). Climate migration is moving from one
place to another where it is more likely to be lived due to
sudden climatic events that change with the climate
situation in the long term. Individuals who must change
their living space are called “climate refugees.” Based on
the search terms "climate migration and human" in Google
Scholar, the number of papers discussing human migration
due to climate change between 1960 and 2023 is displayed
in Figure 2. It can be seen that the number of articles,
which began to an essential rise in the year 1990 and
continued to do so until 2015 as J shaped trend. and then
began to fall after this year.
Figure 2. Number of articles on climate-induced human migration
from 1960 to 2023.
The total number of articles published between 2000
and 2010 remained the same. However, there was an
increase in inequality between 2010 and 2015. After that,
the number of articles showed a decreasing trend until
2021. There was an increase again in 2022 (Figure 2).
Effects of Climate Change
Climate has played a significant role in species' evolution,
change, and diversity from the beginning of environmental
life to the present day (Wisz et al., 2013). As a result of
climate change, aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems
undergo shifts, creating shifts in the biological balance of
ecosystems.
Decreased Biodiversity
Biodiversity is a dynamic system that expresses the
diversity, harmony, and variability between living things
and ecosystems (Ogunkunle et al., 2019). The size of
living things in terms of species and numbers is expressed
as biological diversity. In other words, “biodiversity”
refers to the richness of living things in a region in terms
of species and numbers. An ecosystem is formed by living
things such as animals, plants, and microorganisms in their
living spaces, such as soil, water, and air, living and non-
living in functional interaction. Biodiversity is an
accumulation that includes genetic, species, and
ecosystem diversity, extending since the beginning of life.
As a result of climate change, the adverse effects of water,
land, and air affect the ecological balance and, thus,
biological diversity. This situation causes habitat change,
extinction, or migration of some species, while it causes
population growth for others. The world's biological
diversity has emerged due to a 3.2 billion-year change
(Crist et al., 2017). Since the late 1980s in the
Mediterranean, some species have migrated from the
Eastern basin to the Western basin; tropical fish, such as
day fish, is seen in the Mediterranean; fish that need cooler
waters, such as sprat, leave the Mediterranean and migrate
to the Atlantic Ocean. Profound changes occur in the
breeding periods and quantities of some species, and it has
been discovered that the cause of these changes is an
increase in surface water temperature (Ilık, 2017). The last
three decades have shown that the rising average earth
temperature has begun to affect the climate distribution in
terms of species, as evidenced by the delays of some
species, like the white stork, in starting migration, the
northward migration of insects and butterflies, and the
similar northward migration of mammals (Ilık, 2017).
Many physical and biological systems are showing signs
of change.
For instance, many species have shifted their
distributions towards the pole in the last 30–40 years, an
average of 6 km per decade. On the other hand, seasonal
events like flowering and spawning occur twice per
decade in temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere;
3 days of Species change and extinction have been a part
of this process. Until today, it was thought that 99% of the
existing living species were extinct due to this process.

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However, while the number of naturally extinct species in
a year is limited to one or two species, the number of
extinct species due to human influence is estimated to be
1000 per year. The world's average is 15 degrees, and the
temperature has increased by 0.6 degrees in the last
century (Hughes, 2000). In 2100, this increase is thought
to be in the range of 1.4 –5.8 degrees. As a result of the
habitats shifting to the north with climate change, with an
increase of 3 °C, the living areas of living things will rise
500 m on average and shift to a restricted area (Helmuth
et al., 2006). With the increase in temperature in the polar
regions and the melting of the glaciers, the habitats of the
creatures in this region will increase. By 2100, more than
35% of the species diversity found in Northern Europe
will be new to that region, while 25% of the species
currently available in Southern Europe will disappear due
to climatic conditions (Alkemade et al., 2011). At the same
time, it is thought that 18% of plant species and 22% of
mammal species will go extinct by 2100 if the average
global temperature goes up by 2°C (Nunez et al., 2019).
Rise in Sea Level
With global warming, the oceans have absorbed 80% of
this excess heat. As a result, sea levels have risen by about
23 cm since 1880, while about three inches of this
elevation have been formed in the last 25 years (Griggs &
Reguero, 2021). This figure can be explained by two main
reasons for the rise in sea level: Thermal expansion: About
50% of the sea level rise in the last century is due to the
expansion of the oceans, which have taken up more space,
increasing temperatures.
Melting of the glaciers: Before global warming, the
glaciers that melted a little during the summer months
could return to their former state with the snow falling in
the winter months (Bolch et al., 2012). However, the high
temperatures caused by global warming have increased
the number of melting glaciers in the summer months and
reduced the snowfall in the winter months. Conversely,
this imbalance raises the sea level due to the melting of the
glaciers.
Loss of ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica: As with
mountain glaciers, increased heat is causing the sizable ice
sheets covering Greenland and Antarctica to melt faster,
raising the water level (Cazenave & Cozannet, 2014). The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; states that
with 1.5 degrees of warming in line with this scenario, the
oceans will rise between 26 and 77 cm by 2100 (Valone,
2021). This represents a rise sufficient to submerge many
cities on the west coast of America. Another analysis,
based on NASA and European data, identified an increase
of 65 cm by the end of this century.
Impact on Human Health, Society, and Living Areas
Urban spaces are the areas where the effects of climate
change on people are most intense. With the growth in
demand, urbanization, and population growth in urban
economies, social carrying capacity is exceeded, and
protection systems are weakened. Today, the ecological
destruction of economic sectors: and excessive use of
water, energy, and raw materials are increasing day by day
(Zhang et al., 2022). Accordingly, the urban population's
access to basic needs (water, food, energy, etc.) is
threatened.
For instance, the heat felt in densely built-up parts of
cities enhances the heat's disease-causing influence on
human health as temperatures rise due to climate change
(McMichael, 2013). Heat waves, stress, childhood
nutritional disorders, malaria, and diarrhea are only some
of the climate-related health issues. The elderly and people
with respiratory and cardiac ailments are particularly
vulnerable to the disease factors brought on by these
climatic occurrences. Every year, 390 million people
worldwide get the disease dengue, which is spread by
mosquitoes and is most common in the tropics and
subtropics (Nawas et al., 2016). One of the skin symptoms
of dengue is a generalized morbilliform rash that can be
itchy and heals with desquamation. In a camp for refugees
close to Hargeysa, Somalia, dengue cases have been
documented in 1985, 1986, and 1987 (Botros et al., 1989).
Dengue outbreaks occurred between August 2015 and
February 2016 in 29 refugee camp clinics spread
throughout four of the five Darfur provinces in Western
Sudan (Ahmed et al., 2019). Although there was a dengue
outbreak in eastern Sudan in the early 1900s, the Darfur
states had just a few dengue cases documented up to 2014
(Ahmed et al., 2019). During the civil war and mass
migration in Darfur, there were a lot of economic
immigrants from eastern Sudan (Ahmed et al., 2019). Due
to their dire living conditions, immigrants were more
susceptible to dengue and other arboviral diseases (Ahmet
et al., 2019). Dengue is treated using supportive and non-
specific measures (Nawas et al., 2016). Brazil, Mexico,
and the Philippines now employ a quadrivalent
vaccination (Nawas et al., 2016, Aguiar et al., 2016). A
dengue vaccine is a cost-effective public health
intervention in Southeast Asia, according to a

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comprehensive analysis of the economic evaluation of the
practice (Supadmi et al., 2019). Vector management is still
considered the most effective public health control
strategy in endemic areas.
When we look at the effects of climate change on
human health from the point of view of the health sector:
health institutions and health workers are also adversely
affected due to the increase in costs, occupancy rates, and
infectious disease risks.
Experiencing extreme hot and cold days due to climate
change, heavy rains and storms causes housing in areas
where fragile populations live to become more resistant.
In this context, occupational groups working on the
climate-compatible transformation of city living spaces
should focus on energy efficiency in housing,
improvement of technical infrastructure, and
transformation by green infrastructure, starting from areas
where the fragile population lives. The ethical values of
society and social consciousness have an essential effect
on increasing public awareness of this issue.
Climate Migration Around the World
Climate migration started due to climate change and is a
vital threat today. The fight against floods and overflows
caused by the melting of glaciers due to climate change
and the change in precipitation frequency and severity,
causing damage to agriculture and grassland areas and
rendering them unusable, enables people to find solutions
by migrating. As the climate problem continues, rising sea
levels are expected to threaten countries and cities close to
sea level and high-altitude countries such as Nepal (Hoy,
2016). According to the RCP 4.5 scenario, which is the
lightest of the 4 scenarios put forward by the IPCC
(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change), if we
express the projections of the Meteorology Headquarters
(MGM) for Turkey according to their periods:
In the 2016 – 2040 period, the increase in temperatures
will generally be around 2°C; the temperature will
increase by 2-3°C in the Marmara and Western Black Sea
regions in summer, an increase in the Aegean coasts,
Eastern Black Sea, and Eastern Anatolia in winter
precipitation, and the Aegean coasts and Eastern Anatolia
in spring precipitation. Except for the eastern part of
Turkey, decreases of around 20% will be seen.
Between 2041 and 2070, the temperature increase will
be around 2-3 °C in spring and autumn, an increase up to
4 °C will occur in summer, and there will be a 20%
decrease in winter precipitation in Eastern and
Southeastern Anatolia and Central and Eastern
Mediterranean regions. There will be a 30% decrease in
summer precipitation in Eastern Anatolia and a decrease
in autumn precipitation, except for the Aegean coasts and
a small part of Central Anatolia.
In the 2071-2099 period, temperature increases
exceeding 2°C in winter, 3°C in spring and autumn, and
4°C in summer on the Aegean coasts and South East
Anatolia, during spring precipitation in the Coastal
Aegean, Central Black Sea, and North East Anatolia. It is
predicted that there will be a decrease of around 20%
except for Anatolian regions, an increase of around 10%
in winter precipitation, especially in the coastline, and
decreases of up to 40% in summer precipitation, excluding
the Aegean, Marmara, and Black Sea coasts, and
decreases in autumn precipitation throughout Turkey
(MGM, 2014, cited 6th Statement on Climate Change in
Turkey, 2016). Figure 3 shows how the weather affects
temperatures and how temperatures have changed over the
previous half-century (NASA, 2023).
Climate Refugees in the Global Climate Change and
Migration
Individuals; Migration from one region to another for
social, economic, political, and many other reasons is a
common phenomenon today (Virupaksha et al., 2014).
One factor triggering the migration phenomenon is the
change in the environment. Environmental changes such
as desertification, loss of forest lands, erosion, and water,
air, and soil pollution are considered within the scope of
environmental migration. Based on the definition, it is
possible to state that there are two main reasons for
environmental migration. The first reason is natural
disasters such as volcanic eruptions, landslides, and
earthquakes. The second is human-induced causes, such
as destroying ecosystems due to human activities and the
deteriorating ecological balance (Sipahi & Tekin, 2016).
It is possible to evaluate migrations due to global climate
change within the scope of environmental migration. The
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports list
the direct or indirect effects of global climate change
among the leading causes of migration (Naser, 2011). In
the context of migration, the effects of climate change are
classified in two ways. The first effect is climate
processes, which include changes such as loss of
agricultural land, melting of glaciers, rising sea levels,
decreasing water resources, and drought. The second

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effect related to migration is climate events, which include
changes such as severe hurricanes and floods. These
effects push individuals toward forced migration due to
climate change. In terms of voluntary migration, climate
change affects the local environmental conditions and is
effective in the migration of individuals (McLeman,
2017).
Figure 3. Base-state surface temperature anomalies from 1956 to 1976 compared to the 2002-2022 average (NASA, 2023).
The first effect of climate change on global migration
is tropical storms and the resulting floods (McLeman,
2017). Storms and raids directly affect internal
displacement and migration. Examples of this situation are
the migrations after Hurricane Mitch (Central America,
1998), Hurricane Katrina (United States, 2005), Hurricane
Aila (Bangladesh, 2009), and Typhoon Haiyan
(Philippines, 2013). The second effect is sea level rise.
Coastlines with high population density are directly
affected by sea level rise. Developed countries, as in the
case of the Netherlands, from the effects of uplift, such as
coastal barriers and so on. They are protected by vehicles.
However, this is different for less developed countries.
Countries such as Bangladesh, whose lands are below sea
level, are also due to salinization with the increase of
agricultural lands; they face problems such as pollution of
water resources. There are island countries located in the
Indian and Pacific Oceans that are directly affected by sea
level rise. In one of these, Tuvalu, approximately one-fifth
of the people had to migrate. Again, there are migrations
toward livable areas in the Maldives, which consists of
many islands. The third effect of climate change on
migration is the emergence of semi-arid and arid regions
with the change in regional precipitation regimes. Famines
in these regions force people to migrate (McLeman, 2017).
Climate Refugee Policies
The term "refugee" is defined as follows in Article 1 of the
1951 Geneva Convention Relating to the Status of
Refugees: For this Convention, a "refugee" is someone
who is outside the country of his/her nationality and
cannot benefit from that country's protection because of
his/her thoughts, fears of being persecuted, or does not
wish to benefit from it because of such fear, or does not
have a nationality and is outside the country (UNHCR,
1951). According to the convention, refugees should
reasonably fear being persecuted because of their religion,
race, nationality, membership in a social group, or
political opinion (Ekşi, 2016).
The Convention clearly defines the refugee concept
and limits the content of persecution to those expressed in
the definition (Ziya, 2012). The definition does not include

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environmental issues such as droughts, floods, and
desertification. However, it is undeniable that the scope of
persecution has expanded to include environmental issues
(Ziya, 2012). At this point, it is necessary to establish the
conceptual framework of environmental and climate
refugees.
The concept of an environmental refugee was first
introduced by Lester Brown in 1976. The concept was
later defined by El-Hinnawi in the 1985 United Nations
Environment Program report. The concept is expressed in
different ways in the literature (environmentally-induced
displaced people, environmental refugees,
environmentally-induced displaced persons (EDPs),
environmental forced populations) (Terminski, 2012),
including famine, desertification, deforestation, erosion,
and water scarcity. They are individuals who have to leave
their habitats due to unusual factors such as storms and
floods (Myers & Kent, 1995). According to the United
Nations Environment Program report dated 1985,
environmental refugees must leave their current habitats
due to human or natural environmental risks that endanger
their existence or directly affect their quality of life
(Biermann & Boas, 2010). On the other hand, the concept
of climate refugees has a narrower meaning than the
concept of environmental refugees. Global Governance
Project climate refugees are individuals who have to leave
their habitats due to environmental changes associated
with the three effects of climate change (rise in sea level,
extreme weather events, drought, and water scarcity). In
the Global Political Geography Encyclopedia, “climate
refugees” are expressed as individuals who have to
relocate due to environmental disasters related to climate
change (Terminski, 2012). The fact that environmental
damage is not explicitly listed among the threats that
should exist for refugee status in the Refugee Convention
prevents individuals defined as “climate refugees” from
being legally accepted as refugees (McAdam, 2012).
International law has two different views regarding the
definition of “climate refugees.” The first group advocates
changing the scope of the 1951 Geneva Convention and
creating a new convention for new categories of refugees.
Another group proposes introducing a structure similar to
the Guiding Principles on Domestic Residence, issued in
1998, by examining the existing legal mechanisms. The
International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) use the term "environmentally displaced
person” (EDPs) instead of the concepts of climate refugee
or environmental refugee and treat refugees only within
the scope of the 1951 Geneva Convention. However, it is
seen that the United Nations Environment Program
(UNEP) uses the concept of “environmental refugees.”
The concept of climate refugees has begun to be accepted
at the national and regional levels. While the Australian
Workers Party (ALP) was in opposition, it opposed the
government, which did not accept the concept of climate
refugees. It called for an international meeting to accept
people from island countries in the Pacific Ocean as
climate refugees. In 2007, the Australian Green Party
prepared a draft law on climate refugees (Biermann &
Boas, 2010). The scope of the refugee concept has been
widely discussed in the Organization of African Unity
Convention and the Cartagena Declaration. Among the
reasons for becoming a refugee under the Organization of
African Unity Convention are cases where public order is
seriously disturbed. The convention does not include the
concepts of climate refugees and environmental refugees.
However, the phrase “events that seriously threaten public
order in a part or whole of its own country” allows
environmental disasters caused by climate change to be
evaluated within this scope. In the Cartagena Declaration,
it is recommended to broaden the scope of the refugee
concept. The concept of climate refugees and
environmental refugees is not directly included in the
declaration. The reasons to be accepted as a refugee are
expressed as general violence, external pressures, internal
turmoil, violations of human rights, and other factors
directly disrupting public order. It is possible to indirectly
expand the scope of the refugee definition by including
environmental issues, among other elements (McAdam,
2012). Individuals who cannot return to their home
country due to environmental disasters are provided with
separate protection from refugee status, according to an
article in the Swedish Foreigners Law (Ekşi, 2016). The
amendment to refugee law in Australia includes the
definition of “climate refugees” and empowers the
Department of Immigration to issue visas to persons
displaced by climate change-related disasters. On the other
hand, New Zealand accepts people displaced by climate
change under the name of the Pacific Access Category in
annual numbers (McAdam, 2012). The European Union
Temporary Protection Directive (EU Temporary
Protection Directive) states that the article protecting
migrations due to armed conflicts can also be applied to

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those displaced due to climate change disasters (Ziya,
2012). Since the relevant article (Article 2/C) does not
regulate the scope of the directive in detail, it is possible
to include climate refugees in this scope as well status
remains limited.
Solution proposals
Nature's solution to climate change one whale is worth
thousands of trees for saving the planet. Scientific research
indicates more clearly than ever that our carbon
footprint—the release of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the
atmosphere, which contributes to global warming through
the so-called greenhouse effect—now threatens our
ecosystems and our way of life. However, efforts to
mitigate climate change face two significant challenges.
The first is to find effective ways to reduce the amount of
CO2 in the atmosphere or its impact on average global
temperature. The second is to raise sufficient funds to put
these technologies into practice. Many proposed solutions
to global warming, such as capturing carbon directly from
the air and burying it deep in the earth, are complex,
untested, and expensive. What if there were a low-tech
solution to this problem that is effective and economical
and has a successful funding model? An example of such
an opportunity comes from a surprisingly simple and
essentially “no-tech” strategy to capture more atmospheric
carbon: increase global whale populations. Marine
biologists have recently discovered that whales—
especially the great whales—play a significant role in
capturing carbon from the atmosphere (Roman et al.,
2014). Moreover, international organizations have
implemented programs such as Reducing Emissions from
Degradation and Deforestation that fund the preservation
of carbon-capturing ecosystems. Adapting these
initiatives to support international efforts to restore whale
populations could lead to a breakthrough in the fight
against climate change (Chami, 2014).
Planned resettlement principle
Storms, invasions, and famines are some unforeseen
occurrences that people experience due to climate change
(Degroot et al., 2018). However, voluntary relocation and
resettlement programs could be made by studying how
often and how these things affect people.
Principle of resettlement instead of temporary asylum
Long-term climate refugees (those who live on islands
first submerged by sea level rise) will be unable to return
to their natural homes in huge numbers. Resettlement
rather than transitory asylum should thus be the focus of
initiatives for climate refugees.
The principle of collective rights for local communities
The 1951 Geneva Convention's Article 1 establishes the
refugee regime's person- and state-based nature.
Communities' collective rights are irrelevant when it
comes to refugees. In contrast, a climate refugee regime
should include the whole country, including specific
towns, cities, regions, or tiny island nations.
The principle of international assistance to domestic
measures
Because climate refugees are generally under domestic
protection and extreme weather events affect certain parts
of the country, the international regime focuses less on the
refugee issue. However, the international system should
back programs to help people return to their home
countries and set up a protection system.
The principle of international burden sharing
The most significant contributors to the rise of the global
issue of climate change are industrialized nations (Moore,
2009). These countries should be involved in making
policies for people who have to leave their homes because
of climate change. During this process, joint relief funds
can be set up for countries most hurt by climate change.
All nations, especially affluent ones, are accountable for
establishing the climate refugee system. As part of this
process, it is also essential to provide tangible proof of the
connection between security and climate migration,
forecast the future using case study analysis, and assess
the likelihood of conflict. With the collaboration of many
players, including governments, the global civil society,
and multinational corporations, on a common platform, an
effective and efficient implementation regime for climate
refugees may be established (Boas, 2015; McLeman,
2017).
Design Suggestions
Biophilic Design
Professor of social ecology Stephen Kellert invented the
phrase "biophilic design" in the 1980s. Kellert used the
phrase "assessment of the notion of biophilia for the
design of the built environment" to refer to biophilic
design. This strategy investigates how to maintain
interactions between people and the natural world and the
positive impacts of nature on the built environment. By
reassessing the biophilic design principles created by

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Çelekli et al. - A review of climate change-induced migration
Stephen Kellert for architectural design from the
standpoint of interior design, he helped create a guide. The
biophilia theory, developed by biologist Edward O.
Wilson, served as the foundation for this area, a subfield
of ecological and sustainable design. The term "man's
natural emotional connectedness to other living species"
describes the biophilia idea.
Spatial Design with Waste Water Conversion
Blue and green infrastructure-oriented design is one of the
spatial solutions applied to transform rapidly growing
cities due to population growth into climate-sensitive
sustainable cities. This approach, which aims to design
sustainable, healthy, and resilient cities, reveals the
creation of active green areas that allow each individual in
society to use and access them by combining grey, blue,
and green design elements (Parlak & Atik, 2020).
Zero Carbon Cities
Carbon emission has a large and significant share in
climate changes experienced by global warming
(Jorgenson et al., 2019). Carbon emission is the amount of
carbon a person or group puts into the atmosphere. When
you look at cities, you can see how their carbon emissions
affect the climate by looking at energy use, transportation,
waste management, building, and industrialization.
Mitigating Climate Change
To meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, every person on
Earth must emit less than one ton of carbon dioxide. This
agreement included the following:
Climate Change and Government Duties
Paris Agreement must be ratified
No aid allowance should be given to fossil fuels.
A carbon tax law should be enacted.
Restrictions should be placed on thermal power plants.
Protect coastal ecosystems and forests and plant trees.
(This method can also reduce carbon by $20 per ton or
less.
At the 21st Meeting of the Parties held in Paris at the
end of 2015, 180 countries signed the Paris Agreement,
which will come into effect after the Kyoto Protocol.;
Global warming mitigation entails releasing fewer
greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and sucking GHGs
from the atmosphere. Many things are needed. Most
importantly, governments should drop fossil fuel
subsidies, shut down coal-fired power plants, and use
fewer natural gas-fired power stations.
Conclusion
One of the areas that climate change will directly or
indirectly affect is security. Global climate change is a
phenomenon that has the potential to penetrate every
aspect of human life. Although the inclusion of the climate
issue in the security issue is a matter of debate, if the
current situation continues, climate change can potentially
cause border disputes, conflicts over energy issues, social
tensions, and mass migrations. Focusing on the global
issue of climate change should be the first step in
managing the issue of climate refugees and preventing the
formation of security issues. At this point, it is crucial to
lessen the consequences of climate change and recognize
that nature has set boundaries for human activity.
Identifying the international legal status of refugees is the
first step in directly addressing climate refugees. In this
sense, the statuses recognized in nations like Australia can
be applied to international legal norms. The proposed
resettlement of islanders in the Pacific is another action to
be conducted shortly. Programs for temporary protection
still need to be improved for those who have lost all their
housing options. At this stage, it is vital to develop rules
that offer long-term settlement while considering things
like family, language, and previous settlement. Another
measure is creating humanitarian funds for nations most
negatively impacted by climate change. Climate refugees
and global warming should be considered among the
variables influencing national and international security
strategies. The United Nations, governments, non-
governmental groups, and multinational corporations
must work together to establish an international
framework for climate refugees. Climate migration will be
lessened if the elements that lessen climate change and the
models created in this context are used, and its financial
costs will be avoided.
Ethical Approval
No need to ethical approval for this study.
Funding Statement
The authors don’t declare any fund.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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ACTA BIOLOGICA TURCICA 36(2), A3:1-11, 2023
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