By Hyeonggeun Ji and Rodrigo Mena, The Hague Humanitarian Studies Centre (HSC), International Institute of Social Studies (ISS); Erasmus University Rotterdam, Netherlands

Displacement is one of the most visible and urgent consequences of a warming planet, yet it is far more than just an environmental issue. Beneath rising seas and intensifying storms lie deeper narratives of inequality, governance, and socio-political structures that shape who is displaced, how, and why. As part of the Humanitarian Governance[1] research project, our studies in Bangladesh demonstrate that socio-political factors often outweigh climatic conditions in shaping displacement. In the coastal Patuakhali District, land acquisition for large-scale coastal development projects increases the vulnerability of poorer farmers to cyclones, pushing villagers to urban centres like Dhaka for survival. In the Kurigram District, social marginalisation and elite control over humanitarian governance hinder the transparent distribution of aid resources to those most in need, perpetuating vulnerability and consequent displacement. These insights challenge the framing of ‘climate-induced displacement’ and highlight the need to address the socio-political dimensions of vulnerability and resilience for effective climate action.

The intersection of climatic and socio-political factors in shaping displacement has been acknowledged by researchers for decades. Observations in Patuakhali reaffirm Oliver-Smith’s concept of ‘development-forced displacement,’ highlighting how economic development initiatives perpetuate vulnerability and displacement. Similarly, the intellectual movement embodied in No Natural Disasters asserts that disasters’ impacts are mediated by inequalities, social norms, and global systems. Building on this scholarship from human geography and disaster studies, displacement is best understood as a multi-causal and complex process rather than solely the result of climate-related hazards.

However, during COP29, the term ‘climate-induced displacement’ dominated formal negotiations, informal side events, and participant discussions. This terminology oversimplifies the phenomenon by reducing displacement to climatic and natural forces, obscuring the socio-political and economic dimensions that underpin vulnerability to extreme weather events. Such framing not only creates a cognitive dissonance between academia and policy but also distorts institutional and practical responses to displacement, steering them toward an asocial, depoliticised, and technocratic approach. This omission may stem from the UNFCCC process itself, which is constrained by funding mechanisms tailored to issues explicitly defined as ‘induced by’ climate change. With the emergence of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage (FRLD), this simplistic narrative is further reinforced to keep ‘climate displacement’ on the agenda or to justify the need for financial resources.

In Baku, a meaningful contribution to this agenda emerged as an attempt to re-direct our focus from the quantity to the quality of financing, particularly in the Loss and Damage sector. For instance, during a high-level dialogue, the IFRC Director underlined that not more than 2% of climate finance actually reaches the community level. The fact that as part of the whole financialisation process 98% of resources are inaccessible to those affected and at risk is a key driver of vulnerability to climate change. At several side events, potential critical practices were discussed, including a pilot project by GiveDirectly that focuses on providing cash grants to displaced people to address loss and damage. These contributions show that both existing problems and possible solutions are the outcome of human choices, rather than framing displacement as merely a consequence of climate change forces beyond our control.

To genuinely support individuals and communities experiencing climate-related displacement, the UNFCCC process requires substantial epistemological reform. Moving beyond the reductive paradigm of ‘induced by,’ the focus must shift to the socio-political dimensions of displacement and people’s vulnerability. Along with the contributions of other participants mentioned earlier, we organised the panel ‘Rethinking Climate Displacement’ to advocate for a reflective use of language and concepts representing displacement during UNFCCC COPs. At the institutional level, the Santiago Network is expected to play a crucial role by providing technical advice and fostering knowledge development for the FRLD. Its forthcoming guidance must address the socio-political drivers of displacement (and another type of losses and damages) to inform policies and interventions that are contextually grounded, promote equitable and just climate action, and respond to the lived realities of displaced populations.

[1] This research was supported by the European Research Council (ERC) Horizon 2020 programme (Grant number 884139).

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