KNOMAD Policy Brief 22: Bridging the science-policy gap in the climate migration field (December 2023)

By Roman Hoffmann, Kira Vinke, Barbora Šedovái(i)

While the scientific understanding of climate migration is advancing, major gaps prevail in addressing the related humanitarian and socio-economic challenges. Drawing from recent research, this Policy Brief discusses key challenges and presents recommendations for enhancing the science-policy interface to more effectively tackle the complexities of climate-related movements of people. The outlined suggestions aim to foster inclusive representation, improve the accuracy of assessments, leverage public data sources, and broaden the scope of research and policy initiatives.

This Policy Brief is an abridged version of a contribution to the KNOMAD-sponsored Special Issue in the Journal International Migration titled “Environmental (Im)mobilities: Improving the Evidence Base for Effective Policy Making”. For a more comprehensive understanding of the issue and detailed references, please refer to the original contribution)(ii).

(i) Roman Hoffmann (hoffmannr@iiasa.ac.at) leads the “Migration and Sustainable Development Research Group” at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA). Kira Vinke is the Head of the Center for Climate and Foreign Policy at the German Council on Foreign Relations (DGAP). Barbora Šedová leads the FutureLab “Security, Ethnic Conflicts, and Migration” at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research (PIK).
(ii) Hoffmann, R., Vinke, K. & Šedová, B. (2023) Strengthening the science–policy interface in the climate migration field. International Migration, 00, 00–00. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1111/imig.13125.