Every year, more people are forced to leave their homes-not because of war or persecution, but because their land is drowning, burning, or turning to dust. In 2024, over 30 million people in the United States alone were displaced by extreme weather events like hurricanes, wildfires, and floods. Most of them didn’t cross borders. They moved within their own states, counties, or towns. These are internally displaced populations, and right now, there’s no clear legal system to protect them.
Who Are Internally Displaced People Due to Climate Change?
Internally displaced persons (IDPs) are people who have been forced to flee their homes but remain inside their own country. Unlike refugees, they don’t cross international borders, so they fall outside the 1951 Refugee Convention. Climate-driven IDPs aren’t recognized under any major international treaty. That means they get no special rights, no guaranteed housing, no legal access to emergency aid, and often no path to rebuild their lives.
In Louisiana, entire coastal communities have vanished as the Gulf eats away at the land. Families in Louisiana’s Isle de Jean Charles have been offered relocation funds by the state-but only if they agree to move as a group. Many refuse because their ancestral land holds cultural and spiritual meaning. In California, wildfire survivors in Paradise and Malibu lost everything. They moved to rental apartments in Sacramento or Fresno, but landlords often refuse to rent to them because they’re on temporary assistance. No law stops that.
In Arizona, prolonged droughts have forced Navajo farmers to abandon their fields. Some moved to Phoenix suburbs, where they work low-wage jobs and live in overcrowded trailers. There’s no program to help them transition. No legal status. No housing protections. Just silence.
Why Existing Laws Don’t Work
The U.S. has laws for disaster relief-FEMA, the Stafford Act, emergency declarations. But these aren’t designed for climate migration. They kick in after a storm hits, not when sea levels rise over decades. They give temporary food and shelter, but they don’t address permanent displacement.
Property law doesn’t help either. If your home is underwater, you can’t sell it. If your land is no longer habitable, you still owe property taxes. In Florida, some homeowners in coastal counties are being taxed on land that’s now submerged. No one’s legally responsible for fixing that.
And housing policy? It’s broken. Federal housing vouchers can’t be used for relocation to a new county without approval. In many states, you need proof of employment to qualify for public housing. But if you lost your job because your business was wiped out by a flood, you’re stuck in a loop: no job, no housing; no housing, no job.
There’s also no legal definition of "climate displacement" in U.S. law. Without that, courts can’t rule on it. Governments can’t budget for it. Agencies don’t track it. The Census Bureau doesn’t count climate migrants separately. So we don’t even know how many there are.
What Legal Frameworks Do Exist-And Where Are the Gaps?
The United Nations Guiding Principles on Internal Displacement (1998) offer a non-binding framework. It says displaced people have the right to protection, assistance, and durable solutions. But it’s not law. It’s a guideline. The U.S. signed it in spirit but never incorporated it into federal code.
Some states have tried to fill the gap. California passed AB 1857 in 2023, which created a Climate Displacement Task Force. It’s the first state law in the U.S. to acknowledge climate displacement as a distinct issue. The task force recommends relocation funding, land-use planning, and legal aid for displaced families. But it’s still just a recommendation. No money. No enforcement.
Colorado’s 2024 Climate Resilience Act allows counties to create "climate relocation zones"-areas where the state will help buy out properties at risk. So far, only three counties have used it. Most don’t because they fear it’ll lower property values or trigger lawsuits.
At the federal level, the Climate Displacement Resettlement Act of 2024 was introduced in Congress. It proposed a new category: "Climate Displaced Person." It would grant temporary legal status, access to federal housing aid, and protection from eviction based on displacement status. It died in committee. No vote. No debate.
What a Functional Legal Framework Would Look Like
A real legal framework for climate migration needs four things: recognition, rights, resources, and responsibility.
- Recognition: Congress must define "climate-induced internal displacement" in federal law. It’s not enough to call it "disaster-related." It has to be understood as a slow, systemic crisis-not an emergency.
- Rights: People displaced by climate change should have the right to housing, healthcare, education, and employment in their new location. No one should be turned away from a shelter because they lost their ID in a flood.
- Resources: A dedicated federal fund, like the Disaster Relief Fund but for climate displacement, must be created. It should cover relocation, temporary housing, job training, and mental health services. Not vouchers. Not loans. Direct support.
- Responsibility: States and local governments must be required to plan for displacement. No more pretending it won’t happen. Zoning laws, building codes, and infrastructure budgets must include climate migration scenarios.
Think of it like the National Flood Insurance Program-but for people, not property. Right now, the program pays homeowners to rebuild in flood zones. It should pay them to move safely out of them.
Real Examples of What’s Working
There are pockets of progress. In Oregon, the Climate Migration Initiative partners with tribal nations to relocate communities threatened by river erosion. The state funds the move, provides legal help with land titles, and supports cultural preservation. The result? The Siletz Tribe relocated 12 families in 2023 without losing a single ancestral artifact.
In New Mexico, the Albuquerque Urban Resilience Project offers free legal clinics for displaced residents. They help people navigate housing applications, dispute evictions, and apply for state aid. Since 2022, they’ve assisted over 1,200 families. No federal funding. Just local nonprofit grit.
And in Minnesota, a new law requires school districts to provide immediate enrollment for children displaced by climate events-even if their parents don’t have proof of residency. That’s a small thing, but it’s life-changing. No child should miss school because their house burned down.
What’s Holding Us Back?
Political fear. Economic denial. Legal inertia.
Politicians don’t want to admit climate change is forcing people out of their homes. It sounds too radical. Too expensive. Too much like admitting failure. So they focus on rebuilding the same vulnerable infrastructure-again and again.
Insurance companies won’t cover relocation. Banks won’t lend to people who don’t own land. Real estate agents avoid markets where climate displacement is common. The whole system is built on the assumption that home ownership is permanent. But it’s not anymore.
And courts? They won’t hear climate displacement cases because there’s no law to apply. So the problem stays invisible. People suffer. Systems collapse. No one is held accountable.
The Path Forward
Change won’t come from the top down. It’ll come from communities demanding it. From lawyers filing lawsuits based on human rights violations. From cities passing local ordinances. From states creating their own frameworks.
If you live in a place at risk, ask your city council: Do we have a climate displacement plan? Are we tracking who’s leaving? Are we helping them move with dignity?
If you’re a lawyer, volunteer with legal aid groups helping displaced families. If you’re a policymaker, push for definitions, funding, and protections. If you’re a citizen, vote for leaders who see climate migration not as a crisis to manage-but as a justice issue to solve.
The law doesn’t have to be perfect. But it has to exist. Right now, millions of Americans are walking away from their homes with nothing but a suitcase and a question: "Who’s supposed to help me?" The answer shouldn’t be silence.
Are climate migrants considered refugees under U.S. law?
No. Under U.S. and international law, refugees are people who flee across borders due to persecution, war, or violence. Climate migrants who stay within their own country-called internally displaced persons (IDPs)-have no legal status. They don’t qualify for refugee protections, even if their homes are destroyed by rising seas or wildfires.
Can people displaced by climate change get federal housing assistance?
Only in rare cases. Federal housing programs like Section 8 require proof of income, residency, and citizenship. Many climate-displaced people lose documents in disasters. Others live in informal housing or move across county lines, making them ineligible. There’s no federal program specifically for climate displacement, so most rely on temporary FEMA aid, which lasts only a few months.
Which U.S. states have laws addressing climate migration?
California and Colorado are the only two states with laws directly mentioning climate displacement. California’s AB 1857 created a task force to study solutions. Colorado’s Climate Resilience Act lets counties buy out high-risk properties. Oregon and New Mexico have local programs that help with relocation and legal aid, but no statewide laws yet. Most states have no policy at all.
Why doesn’t the U.S. have a national climate migration policy?
There’s no political will. Climate migration is seen as too expensive, too complex, or too politically risky. Many lawmakers deny climate change is driving displacement. Others fear admitting it will trigger lawsuits, higher taxes, or mandatory relocations. Without a legal definition of climate displacement, federal agencies can’t act-even when communities are vanishing.
What can individuals do to help climate-displaced populations?
Support local organizations that provide legal aid, housing assistance, or mental health services to displaced families. Advocate for city and state policies that recognize climate displacement. Vote for leaders who prioritize climate justice. And don’t assume it’s happening somewhere else-it’s already happening in your state, your county, maybe even your neighborhood.
