People often say "climate migration" as if it were one thing. It isn't. Climate change affects how people move, and whether they can move at all, in at least four different ways.
The words matter. They decide who gets protection, who gets funding, and who gets left out of climate decisions. That's why MYCP is calling for COP31 decision texts to use clear, consistent language on human mobility.
Here are the four terms to know before COP31, with what each one means for children and young people.
The 4 forms of climate mobility at a glance
Displacement
Forced to leave home.
ExampleA family flees a flood or cyclone.
Migration
Mostly voluntary movement, often under pressure.
ExampleA young person moves to a city after repeated crop failures.
Planned relocation
A whole community is helped to move, as a last resort.
ExampleA coastal village moves inland as the sea rises.
Immobility
Staying, by choice or because you can't leave.
ExampleA household that can't afford to move away from repeated droughts.
The definitions below draw on those agreed by Parties through the UNFCCC Task Force on Displacement, as summarised in the COP31 key messages of the Advisory Group on Climate Change and Human Mobility.
1. Displacement
What it means: people are forced or obliged to flee or leave their homes. Climate impacts are one of many possible drivers.
Displacement can happen within a country (internal displacement) or across a border (cross-border displacement).
Why it matters for young people: displacement often happens suddenly. Children lose their school, their friends and their records overnight. Young people may lose a first job or a training place, just as they are starting out.
2. Migration
What it means: the primarily voluntary movement of people away from where they usually live, within a country or across a border.
The catch: in a climate context, migration is rarely completely free. People often move to cope with, avoid or adjust to worsening conditions. That pressure can put their rights at risk.
Why it matters for young people: young people are often the ones who move first, to find work or study. Safe, regular pathways, and recognition of their skills when they arrive, decide whether that move opens doors or traps them in exploitative work.
3. Planned relocation
What it means: a measure of last resort. When an area has become, or is becoming, unsafe to live in, a community is helped to move, settle in a new place and rebuild their lives.
What good relocation looks like: it should be consent-based and, where possible, initiated and led by the community. It must uphold rights to land and culture, including the right of Indigenous Peoples to free, prior and informed consent.
Why it matters for young people: relocation decides where children will grow up. Young people deserve a real say in plans that shape their future community, schools and cultural life.
4. Immobility
What it means: not everyone moves when climate risk rises.
Voluntary immobility: people choose to stay because of cultural, social or economic ties. This can affirm their rights.
Involuntary immobility: people are unable to move because of financial, legal, social or physical barriers. They are sometimes called "trapped populations", and their rights are at risk.
Why it matters for young people: immobility is the most overlooked form of climate mobility. Children in households that can't move may face repeated disasters with no way out, and no one counting them.
Why the words matter at COP31
When decision texts only say "migration", they leave out people who are forced to flee, communities facing relocation, and people who can't move at all. That's why MYCP, building on the Advisory Group's key messages, calls on Parties to:
refer to "human mobility, including displacement, migration and planned relocation", not just "migration" or "human mobility";
recognise immobilities wherever possible;
link human mobility to planning, finance and reporting across loss and damage, adaptation, the just transition and Action for Climate Empowerment.
Say "human mobility, including displacement, migration and planned relocation", not just "migration".
Next: Is there a law that protects climate-displaced people?
FAQ
What is the difference between climate displacement and climate migration?
Displacement is forced: people have to flee or leave their homes. Migration is primarily voluntary, although in a climate context it often happens under pressure from worsening conditions.
What is planned relocation?
A last-resort measure where a whole community is helped to move away from an area that has become unsafe, and to rebuild their lives elsewhere. It should be consent-based and, where possible, community-led.
What are "trapped populations"?
People who can't move away from climate risk because of financial, legal, social or physical barriers. This is called involuntary immobility.
Is "climate refugee" a legal term?
Not under the 1951 Refugee Convention, which doesn't cover climate change as such. Some people displaced by climate impacts may still qualify for protection in specific circumstances.
Getting the language right
Displacement, migration, planned relocation and immobility each need different responses. Getting the language right at COP31, which runs in Antalya from 9 to 20 November 2026, is the first step to making sure no young person on the move, or stuck in place, is left out.
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