Explanation:
Climate refugees are individuals or communities who are forced to leave their homes or usual places of residence due to the adverse effects of climate change. These effects can include sea-level rise, extreme weather events (such as hurricanes and cyclones), droughts, desertification, and other environmental changes directly or indirectly linked to climate change.
Key characteristics of climate refugees include:
1. **Environmental Displacement**: They are displaced primarily because their living environment has become uninhabitable or unsustainable due to climate-related factors.
2. **Loss of Livelihood**: Climate refugees often lose their sources of income and livelihoods due to changes in agriculture, fishing, or other economic activities impacted by climate change.
3. **Forced Migration**: They are compelled to move within their own country (internal displacement) or across borders (cross-border displacement) to seek safer and more sustainable living conditions.
4. **Lack of Legal Recognition**: Unlike refugees fleeing persecution or conflict, climate refugees may not have legal recognition under international law, which poses challenges for their protection and assistance.
5. **Vulnerable Populations**: Vulnerable populations such as indigenous communities, small island states, coastal communities, and those living in low-lying areas are particularly at risk of becoming climate refugees due to their heightened exposure to climate impacts.
The concept of climate refugees underscores the intersection between environmental changes, human rights, and displacement. Efforts to address the challenges faced by climate refugees include international cooperation, adaptation measures, mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions, and policies that support resilience-building in vulnerable communities.
Explanation:
People who having been forcibly displaced by adverse climate conditions encounter stigmatisation and violence in the places to which they fled, can fall within the remit of the 1951 Refugee Convention and be granted legal status and international protection.
Countries with the Most Climate Refugees in the World:
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