The EU and climate migration from the Mena region : trends and challenges

Abstract

This research investigates the connection between climate change and migration. During the last decades, growing scholarly debates perceived both migration and climate change as two interconnected phenomena, involving dual causality. The impacts of climate change have been studied from multiple dimensions with recent studies indicating that in the near future, climate change could be the reason for human displacement in areas of the globe which are prone to this phenomenon. Climate induced migration results mainly from environmental degradation or sudden environmental disasters forcing people to abandon their homes and migrate to areas that offer better climatic stability, such as water and food availability. The aim of this dissertation is to bridge the gap that currently exists in the debate, and in different disciplines of social science, between climate change and migration by investigating any causality as well as policy responses. This research discusses the types of migratory patterns usually taken by migrants, with specific reference to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region. Recent trends and the most crucial challenges will be analysed. Another goal of this report is to examine whether this subject has been addressed at an EU level and to what extent this is reflected in official policy documents. This is undertaken in order to understand whether the EU is currently offering any protection or recognition to climate induced migrants and if so, what kind of protection it is being offered. An interdisciplinary literature review on the topic of climate change and migration is provided, followed by the application of a qualitative thematic analysis research method to establish whether, and to what extent, the Council of the European Union addressed the research topic. The application of this methods is directed towards a specific analysis of the Justice and Home Affairs documents presented to the Council of the European Union from 2010-2012. The main findings discuss how climate induced migration is the result of resource shortage created by climatic events as well as answering to the question whether the EU is tackling this topic, and to what degree this is addressed through official policy actions and recommendations.