Today's Climate Migrants: Extreme Events, Displacement, and New Barriers to Movement

Dear Colleagues,

The warmest years on record have all occurred in the last couple of decades with the hottest five since 2015[1]. Climate change is no longer a future scenario - it is here now. Some regions have already felt the adverse impacts of climate change more quickly and severely than other places on earth. Displacement from extreme events in this era is climate displacement, and climate migration is happening now all over the world. While cyclones/hurricanes, torrential flooding, storm surge, heat waves, etc. are not new phenomenon, the latest science now attributes increased intensities of these extreme events to climate change.

It is from the temporal dimension of ‘now” that this special edition seeks to solicit papers. Against this backdrop, the novel COVID-19 virus and resulting pandemic has also brought unintended barriers to movement and has triggered additional migration issues such as health security, travel restrictions, and border closures. The current moment is unique as it poses multiple and overlapping challenges to mobility decision-making and climate change-induced migration.

Scholars are invited to submit papers which consider climate migration and displacement through:

• Current/recent displacement activities (internal or cross-border)
• Community-based decision making
• Migrant-centered perspectives
• Temporary relocation in hot spots
• Temporary aid program analysis
• Barriers to migration such as:
  • COVID-19 related border closures
  • Lack of vaccination records
  • Land tenure rights
  • COVID related economic downturn

Original papers on the indicated topics are welcome from any discipline; new scholars and scholars from marginalized backgrounds are encouraged to contribute.

[1] https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/news/projected-ranks

Dr. Andrea C. Simonelli
Ms. Heather R. Croshaw, J.D., LL.M, M.E.M
Guest Editors

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