Climate Migration Is about People, Not Numbers
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Bettini, Giovanni
Nash, Sarah L
Sterly, Harald
Gioli, Giovanna
Hut, Elodie
Boas, Ingrid
Farbotko, Carol
Sakdapolrak, Patrick
de Bruijn, Mirjam
Tripathy Furlong, Basundhara
van der Geest, Kees
Lietaer, Samuel
Hulme, Mike
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Bohm, Steffen
Sullivan, Sian
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It has become increasingly common to argue that climate change will lead to mass migrations. In this chapter, we examine the large numbers often invoked to underline alarming climate migration narratives. We outline the methodological limitations to their production. We argue for a greater diversity of knowledges about climate migration, rooted in qualitative and mixed methods. We also question the usefulness of numbers to progressive agendas for climate action. Large numbers are used for rhetorical effect to create fear of climate migration, but this approach backfires when they are used to justify security-oriented, anti-migrant agendas. In addition, quantification helps present migration as a management problem with decisions based on meeting quantitative targets, instead of prioritising peoples’ needs, rights, and freedoms.
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Negotiating Climate Change in Crisis
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© 2021 Steffen Böhm and Sian Sullivan. Copyright of individual chapters is maintained by the chapters’ authors.. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license (CC BY 4.0). This license allows you to share, copy, distribute and transmit the text; to adapt the text and to make commercial use of the text providing attribution is made to the authors (but not in any way that suggests that they endorse you or your use of the work).
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Migrant cultural studies
Climate change impacts and adaptation
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Durand-Delacre, D; Bettini, G; Nash, SL; Sterly, H; Gioli, G; Hut, E; Boas, I; Farbotko, C; Sakdapolrak, P; de Bruijn, M; Tripathy Furlong, B; van der Geest, K; Lietaer, S; Hulme, M, Climate Migration Is about People, Not Numbers, Negotiating Climate Change in Crisis, 2021, pp. 63-82