Abstract
In 2007, issues regarding climate-induced migration took a giant leap on the international policy agenda at the same time as a growth of interest in and salience of climate security. From having been a technical non-issue since the 1980s, climate-induced migration became one of the most emphasised consequences of climate change for a short period. After three years of fluidity in actors, institutions, and conceptual framings, issues of climate change and migration reached a formal recognition in the 2010 Cancún Adaptation Framework, marking a new era for policy discussions on climate-induced migration. This article sets out to show why this issue, which had been known to policymakers and academia for at least two decades, took such a major leap up the agenda at this specific point in time. The article draws from rich primary interview material together with an analytical framework based on the multiple streams framework in order to systematically answer this question. In doing so, the article primarily offers an empirical contribution to the knowledge and understanding of the specific agenda-setting mechanisms of climate-induced migration in an international policy context.
Highlights
Issues regarding climate‐induced migration took a giant leap on the international policy agenda in 2007–2010
The number of academic articles drastically increased (Findlay & Geddes, 2011), and it seemed like every single humanitarian non‐governmental organisation wanted to highlight the issue (Christian Aid, 2007; Kolmannskog, 2008; Warner et al, 2009), with politicians making grand statements (UNSC, 2007) and the media producing sen‐ sational headlines (Roberts, 2007)
The interviews suggest that it was not primar‐ ily the state security framing, but rather the human secu‐ rity framing with an adaptation focus, that made policy entrepreneurs pursue issues of climate‐induced migra‐ tion in the UNFCCC and accomplish the inclusion of §14f of the Cancún Adaptation Framework (CAF)
Summary
Issues regarding climate‐induced migration took a giant leap on the international policy agenda in 2007–2010. After a period of heightened fluidity in actors, structures, and conceptual framings, the period in focus here ends with the successful inclusion of §14f of the Cancún Adaptation Framework (CAF) in late 2010 This short yet pivotal paragraph invites parties to “enhance understanding, coordination and cooper‐ ation with regard to climate change‐induced displace‐ ment, migration and planned relocation, where appro‐ priate, at the national, regional and international lev‐ els” (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC], 2011, §14f). Empiri‐ cal research has shown that rather than a direct cause of migration or displacement, natural disasters and environ‐ mental degradation are more often amplifiers working in intrinsic combination with context and other policies (Boas et al, 2019) After this introductory section, the article moves on to outline the key aspects of the MSF.
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