Practices of Climate Diplomacy and Uneven Policy Responses on Climate Change on Human Mobility

ended

Climate change is a concern for states both at home and abroad. However, disparities often exist between the picture painted by climate diplomacy and domestic policy measures, be it in the level of priority afforded to climate action, or the integration of climate concerns across policy silos. A key area of work for climate diplomacy is human mobility in the context of climate change, which brings into stark relief the cross-border reach of climate change impacts and is billed as one of the biggest societal challenges of climate change. Much of the focus until now has been on the vulnerabilities and resilience of individuals, communities, and states in the Global South most likely to be affected. However, little is known about the political sphere and the climate diplomatic practices of states in the Global North in relation to climate change and human mobility, and in turn how these diplomatic efforts tally with domestic climate action. This project therefore asks the following question: How are nation-states developing practices of international climate diplomacy in relation to climate change and human mobility and to what extent do these align or discord with their practices at the state level? This question will be answered with a comparative case study of five European nation-states. In the first work package, the international climate diplomacy practices of these states will be examined, with the second work package concentrating on domestic policymaking. In the third and fourth work packages within-case and cross-case comparisons will be undertaken respectively, to ascertain whether practices at the international level align or discord with practices at the state level and to compare these findings across cases. The fifth work package will conduct a critical analysis of the findings to feed into conceptual and political debates on climate change and human mobility.