2 THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH FOR UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE INDUCED MIGRATION

OFFICIAL SIDE-EVENT COP 21 The importance of social science research for understanding climate change induced migration TUESDAY 1 DECEMBER 2015 | 11:30-13:00 | THE CONFERENCE CENTRE, PARIS LE BOURGET SITE, ROOM 8 | UN CLIMATE CHANGE CONFERENCE COP 21

2 THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH FOR UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE INDUCED MIGRATION

The importance of social science research for understanding climate change induced migration

The social sciences have made a significant contribution to enhancing our understanding of climate change induced migration, both as an empirical and normative phenomenon but also as an object of theorisation. We present the key findings of the EU Cost Action IS1101 ’Climate Change and Migration’.

DATE AND TIME Tuesday 1st December, 11:30-13:00

PLACEThe Conference Centre, Paris – Le Bourget Site, Room 8 (open to accredited persons only)

LEAD ORGANIZER Dr. Angela Oels, Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS)

Co-organizers: Dr. Giovanni Bettini, Lancaster University and Prof. Jürgen Scheffran, Hamburg University

Programme of the side event

The EU Cost Action IS1101 ’Climate Change and Migration’ is coming to completion after four years of close collaboration bet-

ween European and international partners from across the social sciences, humanities, law, and policy studies of all European member

states. This side event is an opportune moment for the Action to disseminate its key findings and to identify areas for future research.

Social science research has made a significant contribution to understanding climate change induced migration (‘climate migration’).

Our panel first looks at the root causes of climate migration. Dr. Andrew Baldwin from the Institute for Hazard, Risk and Resilience,

Geography, Durham University introduces the Cost Action and looks at how inequality directly affects vulnerability to climate change

impacts. Climate change impacts may affect migration movements and intensify already ongoing conflicts about resource usage and

livelihoods. According to Prof. Jürgen Scheffran from CliSAP, Hamburg University, climate migration can lead to solidarity as much

as to violent conflict. Scares of large scale climate wars are not justified.

Our panel then moves on to the question of agency of climate migrants. Dr. Angela Oels from the Lund University Centre for

Sustainability Studies and Dr. Giovanni Bettini from Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC), Lancaster University ask how those displaced

by climate change have been named over the last twenty years and observe a marked shift from ‘victim’ to ‘adaptive migrant’.

Dr. Francois Gemenne from Sciences Po / Liége University presents some good reasons why we might want to continue to use the

term ‘climate refugee’. All three speakers highlight the need for democratic debate involving those at risk of being displaced in a

decision between different climate futures.

The panel ends with a look at the policies to manage human mobility and climate change. Dr. Koko Warner from the Institute for

Environment and Human Security, United Nations University (UNU-EHS) will assess scenarios of how human mobility may show up

in COP21 discussions and point out opportunities for post-Paris climate policy and action to help vulnerable people. Nnimmo Bassey,

will offer an external critical discussion of the research presented from the perspective of a non-governmental organization. He will

highlight the need for climate justice. Dr. Andrew Baldwin will close the panel with some ideas on where future research needs to focus.

Front page photo: A Somali refugee stands inside a tent with her baby in Dollo Ado, Ethiopia. Photo from Flickr: UN, Eskinder Debebe

2 THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH FOR UNDERSTANDING CLIMATE CHANGE INDUCED MIGRATION

List of speakers

DR. ANDREW BALDWIN Chair of COST Action IS1101 Climate change and migration, Institute for Hazard, Risk and

Resilience, Geography, Durham University

The value of interdisciplinary social science research on climate change: Introduction to

the COST Action on Climate Change and Migration.

PART I: ROOT CAUSES OF CLIMATE MIGRATION

PROF. JÜRGEN SCHEFFRAN Geography/CliSAP, Hamburg University, Germany

Vulnerability, climate migration and violent conflict – what do we know?

PART II: NAMING THOSE DISPLACED BY ENVIRONMENTAL DISASTER: AGENCY FOR CLIMATE MIGRANTS

DR. ANGELA OELS Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies (LUCSUS)

The social construction of climate change induced migration: From climate refugee to

climate warrior

DR. GIOVANNI BETTINI Lancaster Environment Centre (LEC), Lancaster University

Unsettling futures – climate change, migration and the immobility of climate politics

DR. FRANCOIS GEMENNE Political Science, Sciences Po / Liége University

Anthropocene and its victims: One good reason to speak of ‘climate refugees’

PART III: POST-2015 POLICIES TO MANAGE HUMAN MOBILITY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

DR. KOKO WARNER Institute for Environment and Human Security, United Nations University

Three things climate policy and action need to do post-Paris to help vulnerable, mobile

people

NNIMMO BASSEY Health of Mother Earth Foundation

Climate migration, human rights violations and the need for climate justice – a perspective

from the global South

PART IV: THE FUTURE RESEARCH AND POLICY AGENDA

DR. ANDREW BALDWIN Institute for Hazard, Risk and Resilience, Geography, Durham University

Climate change, migration, and pluralism: directions for future social science research

and policy

Andrew Baldwin

Jürgen Scheffran

Angela Oels

Giovanni Bettini

Francois Gemenne

Koko Warner

Nnimmo Bassey

www.lancaster.ac.uk/lec/

www.lucsus.lu.se

www.clisap.de

Layout: Lund University Sustainability Forum

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