The protection of environmental migrants in EU law: the impact of recent developments in national and international case law

Abstract

Environmental conditions have always induced individuals to leave their countries. However, it is expected that environmental migrations will increase in the future due to the increasing deterioration of the environment and the effects of climate change. In this context, the debate has grown in literature and in various international fora aimed at establishing whether there are (or there should be) State obligations to protect migrants fleeing from adverse environmental conditions. In the absence of specific legal instruments on the matter, domestic tribunals and the Human Rights Committee in the well-known Teitiota v. New Zealand case have found this obligation in the principle of non refoulement deriving from human rights law. Furthermore, the growing attention of domestic and international courts to the impact of environmental degradation on human rights may facilitate the granting of protection to environmental migrants. In contrast to these national and international trends, the European Union has remained rather inert in the face of the phenomenon of environmental migrations. This contribution aims to highlight the main challenges posed by recent developments regarding the protection of environmental migrants to European Union law. To this end, first of all, we will look at the possibilities of protecting environmental migrants within the framework of European Union law. Then, the developments of domestic and international case law concerning the protection of environmental migrants will be analysed. Finally, some final remarks will be offered on the impact of developments relating to the principle of non refoulement on European Union law