Abstract
Globally, populations are increasingly located in areas at high risk of climate change impacts. Some populations lack the agency to move out of harm’s way, leading to involuntary immobility. The climate risks these populations face are insufficiently addressed in climate policy and disaster planning. While policy and planning should be data-informed, the lack of appropriate data should not limit governments and institutions from taking action to reduce the risk of involuntary immobility. Incorporating involuntary immobility within the broader sustainable development goals of climate action and safe, orderly, and regular migration may substantially reduce the risk of involuntary immobility.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Article number | 2581 |
| Journal | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 16 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Dec 2025 |
Funding
The authors thank participants of the 2023 Columbia University Managed Retreat Conference World Cafe on Climate Change Implications for Conflict Zones, Displaced Persons, Refugees, Slums Residents, and Other Involuntary Immobile Populations. We thank Hope Sutherland, Emely Mendez and Joseph C. Winn for notetaking during the World Cafe. We also thank Elizabeth Fussell and Robbin van Duijne for their comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. F.C. and A. de S. acknowledge support from the Department of Defense’s Minerva Research Initiative AFOSR grant no. FA9550−22-1-0282. C.T. was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research grant no. FA9550-23-1-0684. J.F. was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) grant no. 185210. J.V.D.H. was supported by the NASA Land Cover/Land Use Change Program grant no. 80NSSC23K0528. Computational efforts by C.T. were performed on the Tempest High-Performance Computing System, operated and supported by University Information Technology Research Cyberinfrastructure at Montana State University. N.G.P.’s participation was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Equity and Environmental Justice (EEJ) grant no. 80NSSC22K1656. The authors thank participants of the 2023 Columbia University Managed Retreat Conference World Cafe on Climate Change Implications for Conflict Zones, Displaced Persons, Refugees, Slums Residents, and Other Involuntary Immobile Populations. We thank Hope Sutherland, Emely Mendez and Joseph C. Winn for notetaking during the World Cafe. We also thank Elizabeth Fussell and Robbin van Duijne for their comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. F.C. and A. de S. acknowledge support from the Department of Defense’s Minerva Research Initiative AFOSR grant no. FA9550−22-1-0282. C.T. was supported by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research grant no. FA9550-23-1-0684. J.F. was supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) grant no. 185210. J.V.D.H. was supported by the NASA Land Cover/Land Use Change Program grant no. 80NSSC23K0528. Computational efforts by C.T. were performed on the Tempest High-Performance Computing System, operated and supported by University Information Technology Research Cyberinfrastructure at Montana State University. N.G.P.’s participation was supported by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Equity and Environmental Justice (EEJ) grant no. 80NSSC22K1656.