HABITABLE Project: Understanding Voices on the Move

In 2020, 30.7 million people had to relocate due to natural disasters globally according to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. With accelerating climate change, a report by the IPCC predicts that this number will exponentially grow in the coming decades. The HABITABLE project, which operated from 2020 to 2024, was set to advance the understanding of how impacts of climate change and migration patterns interact. With collaboration from 22 partners across 18 countries, including non-EU consortium partners such as the University of Ghana and the Raks Thai Foundation, HABITABLE represents a significant European Commission-funded research effort exploring current and future displacement patterns. 

Dr. Nassim Majidi, co-founder of Samuel Hall – a research organisation focusing on migration and displacement – emphasizes that the root of climate displacement often lies not in climate change itself but in the "lack of preparation, prevention, and response by governments." 

This lack of preparation is evident in the experiences of individuals like Maryam, an Afghan farmer. "My family and I have been displaced from one province to another three times already," she shares. "We could hardly get any water from the wells due to the extreme heat. My children were constantly sick with diarrhea. I even lost one of my children to it. We tried cultivating crops that needed less water, dug ditches to store water, but it wasn’t enough." 

Inspired by the concept of climate tipping points, which, once crossed, mark irreversible changes in our climate, HABITABLE focused on examining the role of social tipping points. Understanding social tipping points is crucial to better anticipate social transformations that trigger climate change induced migration. Additionally, the project took into account gender and social equity aspects within the climate-migration framework as some communities are more likely to be impacted by climate change than others. 

The researchers considered both the potential benefits and risks associated with relocation from areas affected by climate change. Relocation can take various forms, such as internally migrating from rural to urban areas, family separations for labour-seeking reasons, cross-border relocations, and many more.  Under a science-for-policy approach, the HABITABLE project inquired into migration scenarios and produced policy recommendations in cooperation with stakeholders, which aim to improve policy responses. These recommendations are grounded in specific climate displacement scenarios developed using both quantitative methods, such as longitudinal surveys, and qualitative approaches, including interviews and focus group discussions. 

Curious to delve deeper into the linkages of climate change and migration patterns? Listen to the ‘Voices on the Move’ podcast, created in partnership with HABITABLE, Migration Matters, York University in Canada, and Sema Box 

You can also check out this short video series, to learn what forced displacement can look like on the ground. The series was created with input from HABITABLE researchers. 

For more information, please see the EU factsheet.