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If we are to genuinely address the crisis of climate-induced displacement, weÌýmust challenge the depoliticised and sanitised narratives that currently dominate policy discourse and media representation, write Aminur Rahman and Quazi Arunim Rahman

AS RISING seas swallow coasts, floods wash away livelihood and droughts parch once-fertile lands, the image of the climate-displaced person has become an emblem of the unfolding climate crisis. These stark environmental shifts are no longer distant projections but daily realities for millions across the globe. The world, especially countries in the Global North, has adopted this narrative with increasing ease — citing ‘climate displacement’ as a tragic but seemingly unavoidable consequence of global warming. However, beneath this seemingly empathetic framing lies a troubling normalisation of forced displacement, one that often conceals the deeper roots of responsibility, historical exploitation and entrenched power imbalances.

Is climate change the sole villain displacing millions from their homes? Or is this displacement, often portrayed as an inevitable act of nature, also manufactured — shaped and accelerated by the unchecked activities, consumption patterns, and political choices of the Global North? We must ask whether the movement of people is truly about nature’s wrath or the calculated outcomes of global inequality and systemic injustice.

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Politics of naming

THE term ‘climate displacement’ sounds neutral, even sterile — as if it were a natural event, like rainfall or an earthquake. It de-emphasises human agency and obscures the deeper structural injustices that have led us here. In reality, what we often call ‘climate displacement’ is a form of forced uprooting driven largely by the extractive economies, fossil fuel dependencies and high-carbon lifestyles of wealthier nations. These patterns of overconsumption and environmental degradation have created a planetary crisis, the consequences of which are most intensely felt in the Global South. In countries like Bangladesh, where communities have contributed the least to global emissions, people now face the most severe climate impacts — rising tides, salinization, river erosion and the collapse of agricultural systems.

Labelling this as ‘climate-induced displacement’ alone serves to erase the culpability of the Global North. It subtly shifts the discourse from one of accountability to one of adaptation, from justice to humanitarianism. In this framing, the Global North often emerges not as the historical polluter or instigator of structural inequalities, but as the benevolent saviour offering aid and support. This clever narrative repositioning distances the powerful from responsibility and reframes displacement as an unfortunate — but blameless — side effect of climate change.

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Displacement as managed outcome

WHAT if displacement isn’t just a regrettable side effect of climate change, but a managed outcome — one that fits comfortably within the Global North’s geopolitical and economic frameworks? Climate displacement has increasingly become a policy category within development, climate adaptation and disaster response plans. Yet these plans are often crafted without reference to political histories, colonial legacies or the socio-economic systems that created vulnerability in the first place. Instead of working towards deep, structural climate justice that interrogates root causes, we now witness the institutionalisation of climate refugees as a manageable, predictable group within global governance frameworks.

Aid flows, resettlement programmes, and climate finance packages are offered — often presented with public relations fanfare — but these rarely challenge the global systems that create and perpetuate environmental harm. Worse, such policies can reinforce existing inequalities by treating displaced populations as passive recipients of charity, rather than active holders of rights, knowledge and demands. Displacement becomes framed as a technical issue, solvable with logistics and funding, rather than as a political issue that demands fundamental changes in global systems of extraction and accumulation.

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Who gets to stay?

CLIMATE change does not impact everyone equally — nor does it displace everyone equally. Wealthier populations in flood-prone or wildfire-risk areas may relocate with government support, insurance coverage and a pathway to reestablish their lives in safer zones. They often have the privilege of mobility, safety nets and institutional recognition. In stark contrast, marginalised communities, particularly in the Global South, are left with few viable options. They must either remain in deteriorating environments or undertake dangerous and uncertain migrations — often without formal recognition, protection under international law, or access to rights and services in destination areas.

This disparity is not accidental or coincidental. It reflects a deeply entrenched global order where some lives are protected and others are rendered disposable. In such a framework, displacement becomes not merely a consequence but a deliberate mechanism — a way to keep the Global South in a continuous state of precarity, dependency and subjugation. The decision of who gets to stay and who is forced to move reveals uncomfortable truths about whose lives are valued and whose suffering is tolerated.

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Reclaiming the narrative

IF WE are to genuinely address the crisis of climate-induced displacement, we must challenge the depoliticised and sanitised narratives that currently dominate policy discourse and media representation. We must move beyond the passive label of ‘climate migrants’ or ‘climate displaced’ or ‘climate refugee’ and ask deeper, more difficult questions: Who created the conditions for their displacement? Who benefits from the way this crisis is framed? And who is made invisible or voiceless in the process?

It is time for the Global North to confront its historical and ongoing role in producing climate harm — not merely through symbolic gestures or pledges but through concrete acts of responsibility. This includes not only reducing emissions at home but also paying reparations for historical damage, transferring clean technologies without conditions, and most importantly, upholding the rights, dignity, and autonomy of displaced communities. This is not a matter of charity — it is a matter of justice, accountability, and shared humanity.

Ultimately, climate displacement is not just about the climate. It is about power, inequality and responsibility. And unless we are willing to name those truths, we risk turning one of the greatest moral challenges of our time into just another managed crisis — with the most vulnerable paying the highest price.

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Aminur Rahman is a researcher and seasoned development professional. Quazi Arunim Rahman is a lecturer at the University of Brahmanbaria.