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Online course: Climate change and migration: predictions, politics and policy

Diving near slums of Cebu City, Philippines

How will climate change reshape migration? And what are governments planning to do about it? This online course examines the major issues around climate-linked migration and displacement over 10 webinars.

This is a free course and you do not need any previous knowledge to participate. Missed a webinar? No worries – you can watch the recording online, at your own pace. Each session also comes with a collection of recommended reading and watching, so you can investigate the themes and ideas further if you wish.

The webinars are divided into several themes:

  • Introduction – webinars 1, 2 and 3
  • Politics – webinars 4, 5 and 6
  • Policy – webinars 7 and 8
  • Complex crises – webinars 9 and 10

Webinar 1: Intro – what does climate-linked migration look like? (February 2019)

We looked at three testimonies from Mexico, the Philippines and Pakistan. Each tells a different story, and each allows us to look at a different kind of human movement driven by climate change.

Webinar 2: Intro – a brief history of migration and climate change (March 2019)

This lecture provided grounding in both climate change and migration. We explored the history of climate change and engaged with some key episodes of human migration in history.

Webinar 3: Intro – what do we know, and what does the future hold? (April 2019)

This seminar explored what research evidence tells us about current migration linked to climate change, and how we can attempt predictions about the future.

Webinar 4: Politics – neoliberalism (May 2019)

Can we use the labour market to address climate-linked migration? Should we look into the insurance industry to protect people from climate displacement? This session looks at how neoliberal thinking emerged, and what its application to climate-linked migration might mean.

Webinar 5 Politics – our unequal world (July 2019)

This session explored which people are most likely to experience climate-linked migration and the causes behind their vulnerability. Why is it that some people and places are more likely to experience episodes of climate-linked migration? And what are the decisions, ideas and historical events that have created these unequal levels of vulnerability?

Webinar 6: Politics – security (July 2019)

The idea of security has come to dominate many governments thinking about migration. Controlling and stopping migration through various security measures have become the ‘go-to’ policy options for many countries, especially in the West. But what would these ideas and policies look like in an era of climate-linked migration? This session examines how the idea of security has shaped thinking and policy on climate-linked migration – and who the winners and losers are of this approach.

 

Upcoming webinars

Webinar 7: Policy – key policy issues (August 2019)

We’ve examined some of the key political ideas behind addressing climate-linked migration, but how are these translating into actual policy and action? This session looks at some of the key policy issues in climate-linked migration. We’ll focus on the legal status of people who move due to climate change and policy questions around planning and preparedness for climate-linked displacement.

Sign up here.

More info on the other webinars will follow soon.