The Dual Relationship Between Human Mobility and Climate Change in Central Asia: Tackling the Vulnerability of Mobility Infrastructure and Transport-Related Environmental Issues

Abstract

AbstractHuman mobility impacts the global climate and the climate in turn impacts human mobility. Fuel-based transport emits CO2 and electric transport raises the issue of electricity production and its environmental impacts. Conversely, roads, railways, vehicles and ways of travelling can be impacted by extreme climate events, such as floods, storms, thawing permafrost and melting asphalt. This second aspect of the relationship between climate change and human mobility is rarely explored, even within the scholarship on ‘climate mobility’. Focusing on Central Asia, this chapter presents the specificities of the region regarding the environment–mobilities nexus and highlights the adverse impacts of climate-related mobility disruptions for the populations of the region. The chapter is based on the author’s fieldwork in Central Asia, particularly in Tajikistan, and on press articles and scientific literature on the topic. It discusses the complex relationship between mobilities and climate change in Central Asia, addresses the interconnection between climate justice and mobility justice and provides policy recommendations to promote sustainable mobilities and reduce mobility dependence in the region.