Increasing Human Displacement in Present Scenario: Existing Legal Provisions and Need for Inclusion of Climate Refugees in International Refugee Law

Abstract

Climate Change is a reality as we witness rising global temperatures, severe storms and hail, increased droughts and increase in the sea level, etc. that has caused unpredictable seasons which adversely affects food production and leads to rise in hunger and poor nutrition. The Environment Refugee or the climate induce Individuals have become one of the most vulnerable individuals having no home left for themselves and are forced to externally migrate outside their country. It has been observed that environment/climate refugees have increased and are predicted to increase more. In 2020 the Ecological Threat Registry (ETR) with the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) release on ecological data that by 2040, a total of 5.4 billion people will live in the 59 countries experiencing high or extreme water shortage. By 2050 about 3.5 billion people could suffer from food security. The undermining condition that forces people to abundant their natural habitat to seek better life or survival elsewhere.
This paper tries to look into the struggle of environment/climate refugees and why refuge term is missing for climate induced people from the refugee Convention. This paper will take examples from Global South and evaluate the existing challenge to acknowledge the ongoing struggle.