Collectivized Obligations in Climate Change Migration Discourse: challenges and prospects

Abstract

Studies show that the overwhelming majority of the people forced to flee for environmental reasons are, and will be, in the under-developed world. While many are displaced within their own country, others would cross international borders. Unfortunately, developing states, which are least responsible for climate change, will bear the greatest burden of providing protection for forced climate migrants. In order to provide sufficient long term protection proposals have been made for responsibility sharing among the rich nations, which are most responsible for causing climate change. This collectivized responsibility is argued to allow governments to provide protection to involuntary migrants arriving en masse without placing unfair burden to a single state. The burden is to be shared according to capabilities, either in providing temporary protection, financing basic needs or offering resettlement. As good as it sounds, is the proposal achievable? What lessons do we learn from previous attempts to collectivize obligations? These questions are dealt with in the thesis.