A critical examination of the legal protection of climate refugees: lessons from recent case law in Australia and New Zealand
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Date
2024
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Publisher
University of the Western Cape
Abstract
As the climate crisis worsens, a growing number of people are being forced to flee their homes due to climate-related events.1 Such people are typically referred to as climate refugees.2 According to Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), it is predicted that at least 1,2 billion people across the globe could be displaced by climate-related events by 2050.3 Human activity is the main driver of climate change.4McAdam states that an analysis of climate change-induced displacement can be traced back to earlier deliberations on environmental displacement, which were particularly prominent during the 1990s.5 Climate change6 has diverse negative impacts on human systems, including on water security and food production and cities, settlements and infrastructure.7 In general, refugees are protected by international law instruments. International human rights law and refugee law are closely intertwined as the system for protecting refugees at the international level is human rights-based.8 This places the dignity and rights of individuals and vulnerable groups at the centre of protection.9 In the case of Ioane Teitiota v New Zealand10 (hereafter referred to as Teitiota case), it was verified under human rights law that the principle of non-refoulement requires no one to be forcibly returned to a country, where climate change impacts expose them to life-threatening risks or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.11
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Keywords
Asylum, Climate change, Climate refugees, Australia, New Zealand