Podcast: How Is the Climate Crisis Affecting Migration, Roman Hoffmann?

Roman Hoffmann, Migration and Sustainable Development (MIG) Research Group leader at IIASA discussed what research actually tells us about climate-related mobility, challenging the widespread and often alarmist notion of “climate refugees.” He emphasized that climate change rarely acts as a single or direct cause of migration but instead shapes mobility decisions through a complex interaction of environmental pressures, economic conditions, political instability, and social inequalities. While climate impacts can increase pressures to move, they can also lead to immobility, particularly among the most vulnerable populations who lack the resources to migrate. Most climate-related mobility occurs within countries rather than across borders, and large-scale predictions of mass migration to Europe are highly uncertain and often misleading. Roman also highlighted the deep global inequalities underlying climate impacts—those least responsible for emissions are often the most affected—and argued for a more evidence-based, humane, and justice-oriented public and political debate that focuses not only on migration, but also on protecting and supporting people facing growing climate risks where they live.