Climate‑related displacement and the EU legal framework. Protection gaps, human rights obligations and pathways for reform

Abstract

This thesis examines how persons displaced by climate‑related factors are protected within the legal frameworks of the European Union and its Member States. Climate change is reshaping human mobility through both sudden‑onset events, such as floods, storms and wildfires, and slow‑onset processes including sea‑level rise, desertification and land degradation. As environmental hazards intersect with structural inequalities, weak governance and historical marginalisation, climate‑related displacement emerges not only as an environmental phenomenon but as a human‑rights and justice issue. Despite rising numbers of people displaced by climate change, neither EU nor international law recognises the status of “climate refugee”, leaving affected individuals in a position of legal invisibility and dependent on fragmented national practices or narrow interpretations of existing asylum law. Given this background, this thesis explores how climate‑displaced persons can be protected within the legal systems of the EU and its Member States. It analyses the EU legal framework, relevant human‑rights frameworks and emerging jurisprudence, as well as international developments. Through doctrinal legal research, the thesis evaluates current protection gaps and the extent to which EU climate ambitions and migration reforms interact. Ultimately, the thesis proposes pathways towards a coherent, human rights-based EU response that integrates scientific evidence, intersectionality and multi-level governance to ensure effective protection for climate-displaced persons.