The author offers three categorizations of individuals that must seek refuge because of harm to their community from climate change; (1) environmental emergency migrants who must flee because of rapid onset events and take refuge to save their lives; (2) environmentally forced migrants who are compelled to leave to avoid gradual environmental deterioration and may not have a choice to return; and (3) environmentally motivated migrants who choose to leave a deteriorating environment in order to avoid further weakening of their livelihoods. Policymakers haven’t been quick to resolve the concerns and status sought by these three distinct groups of people. What also needs to be addressed is the fact that many of these individuals would have remained in their original communities if they were not forced out due to actions beyond their control. This is often the case of refugees fleeing war-torn nations. Simply, the assumptions should often be bestowed on these populations that they are seeking refugee because they must, and not always for less advantageous reasonings. We see correlations between low lying nations that have been impacted by rising water-levels, and movement of populations away from these areas. It often does not move in the other direction. This should inform administrative agencies in nations that are receiving these populations that there is a genuine reason for these people seeking protected statuses.
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