Addressing Future Fragility: Women, Climate Change and Migration
Climate change and its consequences are among the greatest challenges facing the global community, with the potential to radically alter the structures of communities, states, and international cooperation. Climate change will fundamentally reshape migration patterns around the world; as people choose to migrate to find safety and economic opportunities, their movements will affect how states manage their borders and national security and will strain further the already burdened mechanisms which help guide migration flows locally and internationally. The pressure of climate-related migration in both origin and destination communities requires rethinking international initiatives and national frameworks governing migration and resettlement. When a shock occurs, such as those caused by climate change impacts, it leaves women especially vulnerable and makes migration particularly arduous. Yet women will also be critical to determining the response to such events. In order to understand the potential impacts of climate change-related migration, it is critical to understand women’s roles and experiences. As responsive new policies and approaches are being designed, it is equally critical for women’s perspectives, needs, and expertise to be centered. This chapter provides a discussion of the gendered consequences of climate change, the legal and policy gaps that exist for understanding and addressing gendered climate change-related migration, and the role that future WPS research and analysis can play in highlighting and addressing these issues.