Highlights from CLIMIG’s November Seminar: New Frameworks for Climate and Migration Research

As part of the CLIMIG initiative’s efforts to establish itself as a research hub for climate mobilities in Norway and beyond, the initiative launched a quarterly seminar series this year. On 20 November 2024, the third seminar was held in hybrid format, marking the first session with external speakers.

We were delighted to welcome Andréas Litsegård, Senior Lecturer, and Karsten Paerregaard, Professor Emeritus, both from the School of Global Studies at Gothenburg University in Sweden. They presented their work on “Conceptualizing Migration in a Changing Climate: Towards a New Analytical Framework.”

In the first half of the seminar, the speakers provided a nuanced overview of past and current climate and migration scholarship, tracing the evolution of academic discourse with insights from both climate science and migration studies. While the role of climate change in human migration—whether as a major causal driver or as one of many socio-cultural, economic, and environmental factors—remains debated, the speakers highlighted various emerging frameworks that address the complex intersections between climate change and human (im)mobilities across spatial, temporal, and social scales, giving rise to a diverse and dynamic research field.

The second half of the seminar offered valuable insights into the speakers’ ongoing project, “CLIMIG - A New Interdisciplinary Framework for Studying the Relation Between Climate Change and Migration”, (which shares its name with our initiative). This profoundly interdisciplinary project involves researchers from various fields and institutions, focusing on mountain regions in Ethiopia, Peru/Bolivia, and Nepal/Bhutan. By integrating climate models, qualitative data, and large-scale migration datasets, the project aims to reframe the intricate interplay of factors and drivers of climate-related mobilities. Particularly insightful for attending CLIMIG members, the speakers not only outlined the project’s goals but also discussed the epistemological and practical challenges of conducting interdisciplinary research on climate and migration. For more information about the project, visit their website.

If you are interested in presenting at an upcoming quarterly seminar or know someone who would be a great fit, please do not hesitate to contact the CLIMIG coordinators.