Climate change is now one of the biggest drivers of human displacement worldwide. Rising seas, floods, droughts, and extreme weather are pushing millions of people away from their homes each year. In 2022 alone, over 32 million people were displaced by climate-related disasters. By 2050, the World Bank estimates that 216 million people could be forced to move within their own countries, including nearly 40–45 million in South Asia.
Despite these alarming numbers, the laws that protect displaced people are outdated and incomplete. The 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol protect those fleeing persecution but do not cover people displaced by environmental or climate reasons. Regional agreements, such as the OAU Convention in Africa and the Cartagena Declaration in Latin America, expand the definition slightly, but they are limited in scope and application. Other global efforts like the Sendai Framework, the Global Compact for Migration, and the Nansen Initiative acknowledge climate-related mobility, yet they remain voluntary and non-binding. This leaves climate migrants legally invisible recognized as vulnerable, but without enforceable rights.
India shows the urgency of this problem. In 2024 alone, it recorded 5.4 million new displacements, mostly from floods and cyclones. However, people displaced by disasters are treated only as temporary victims under the Disaster Management Act, 2005, which focuses on relief rather than long-term rehabilitation. Compensation is inconsistent and there is no clear system for permanent relocation. A private bill introduced in 2022 to recognize and support climate migrants is a welcome step, but it has yet to become law.
This report argues for urgent reforms: legal recognition of climate migrants, stronger national laws, better financing for rehabilitation, and greater regional and international cooperation. Protecting people displaced by climate change is not only a humanitarian duty but also a question of fairness and justice.
About the author
Akhil Yadav is a second-year B.B.A. LL.B. (Hons.) student at Gujarat National Law University, Gandhinagar. He is a Millennium Fellow (2025) leading an initiative on justice and climate resilience. His research spans constitutional law, climate justice, and pressing socio-legal issues.
Sneha Yadav is an electronics engineer with post graduation in political science by qualification. Sneha has wide-ranging interests in the contemporary social, economic, administrative and political issues of India.
