To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment her Department has made of the potential effect of climate change on the number of climate refugees coming to the UK.
Answered on
20 October 2016
The government takes the issue of climate change and those displaced as a result of climate change extremely seriously, which is why we are proud of our contribution under the Paris Climate Change Agreement.
The Refugee Convention 1951 is an international treaty which sets the global definition of who is a refugee. It does not have an explicit category that covers those fleeing climate change but the government continues to work with our global partners to address the causes of forced migration, including as part of UN discussions on proposed international compacts on migration and asylum.