This talk considers the role of environmental factors in migration decision-making. Research and discourse focused on ‘climate migration’ and ‘environmental refugees’ tend to overstate the role of environmental factors in migration decision-making, while the wider migration scholarship has yet to rigorously incorporate environmental factors into its theories or frameworks.

This talk will review recent advancements in conceptualizing the links between climate change, migration, and immobility. It proposes the aspiration-capability framework as one useful tool to explore how climate change might impact migration and immobility outcomes across development contexts.