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Context: We live in a complex, inter-dependent world. Climate justice, migrant justice and racial justice are inherently inter-connected. These injustices are upheld by institutions and structures that make up the social fabric of our lives, from housing to healthcare to social infrastructure. Meanwhile the stories we are telling ourselves justify inaction.
Reframing migration as adaptation not risk
Climate activists are increasingly aware of the historical and ongoing injustices around the world that mean impacts of climate change are felt unequally. There is now a greater focus on intersectional climate justice. Those experiencing the worst impacts of climate change are so often those who are least responsible for causing it. The climate change narrative now needs to shift away from migration as a 'risk' or 'threat' which serves only to embolden those who respond with politics of exclusion and the securitisation of borders. Instead - whilst strongly defending people's right to stay - we must acknowledge that migration has always been a form of adaptation and that it can be anticipated and welcomed as part of a just transition globally and locally.
Understanding migration as a well-rehearsed adaptation strategy with collective benefits for all
The stories we tell shape our beliefs, values and world view. In a era of divisive rhetoric, we urgently need to build narratives that unite us across race and class, tapping into wisdoms both old and new as we build bridges through storytelling. Stories about a grandmother struggling to breathe during heatwaves, a family fleeing a flooded home, or a child with severe asthma in a polluted city are all climate-linked experiences. So are stories of ancestral wisdom, resilience, skills-sharing and adaptation to new realities. They all deserve space and attention as we seek to re-orient ourselves towards a just green transition that benefits existing communities and new arrivals alike. Shifting power so that those who have direct experience of climate change and migration have the agency to tell their own stories is a core part of this. And tapping into the power of art and culture offers us the means to understand each other not only in our heads but in our hearts.
Models for inclusive and accessible high-density / low carbon housing
The answer to our housing crisis cannot be to build more houses through a business-as-usual mentality - profit-driven development that is contributing to environmental breakdown and still doesn’t meet housing needs. This approach is driving an inequitable, unsustainable housing market. New models and approaches - from reimagining retrofit to releasing unused buildings to prototyping affordable, low-carbon housing to tackling inequity through gentle urban densification - each is demonstrating 'pockets of possibility' in the here and now. Too many migrants and many racialised communities are forced to live in cramped, damp homes where mould triggers asthma, air pollution seeps through windows, and heating is unreliable. There is a huge role for planners, developers and demonstrators to bring these challenges together in an intentional, equitable way that benefits existing communities whilst welcoming new neighbours.
Establishing the right to move (or stay) for people living in climate-impacted environments
There is no such thing as a 'climate refugee'; climate-related migration is not recognised under the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. There are very few safe legal migration pathways for those seeking sanctuary as their homelands become increasingly unliveable. Creating and testing new legal migration pathways, cross-border collaboration for planned relocations rooted in equity, justice and agency, and more universal proposals for new legal frameworks offering protections and rights to people seeking to relocate due to climate change; all are critical in creating and establishing justice-centred precedents as well as defending the right to belong.