CLIMATE JUSTICE AND CLIMATE MIGRANTS: Reflection and Analysis.

Abstract

Climate justice and Climate migrants are terms that are still abstract and misunderstood for “Monsieur Tout-le-Monde”. However, these notions have become more and more topical in the face of the environmental disruptions, constantly growing over the last few decades: general increase in temperature, melting of ice, increase in sea level, more natural disasters, tsunamis, cyclones … Despite the inverse discourse of climate-skeptics, we can no longer deny the causes of these climatic changes, of which the principal cause is the human activity, as we cannot ignore the consequences linked to these climatic changes including displacement and environmental migration. According to the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published in 2013, a 95% certainty rate was asserted that "human activity is the main cause of observed warming" (Alexander Pouchard, 2014a). According to experts' predictions, in the most pessimistic scenario, if greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current rate, there would be an increase of 4.8 ° C for the average temperature and the level of the oceans would increase by 98cm by 2100. Despite the fact that Rwanda has not experienced climate justice related to environmental/climate migration, it has experienced environmental displacements in recent decades and has long been vulnerable to natural disasters as a result of climate change . The intensity and frequency of climatic hazards and their adverse effects are accentuated by the topographical structure of the Rwandan territory, characterized by a very rugged landforms and consequently very sensitive to erosion and landslides.
To face these climate challenges, it would imply a radical change in the way of life of the countries. Therefore several questions can then arise and the purpose of this article is rather to draw attention to a set of questions about a subject that remains relevant as climate change by giving an objection and a critical reflection on paradoxes and enigmas of Climate justice and climate refugees mentioned in the recent literature. To this end, the methodology used is centered on systematic review and analysis of the existing scientific literature on Climate change by, mostly, using electronic bibliographic databases. The results from this work reveal that climate refugee has no legal existence and is therefore not recognized at all. For this legal status as a climate refugee to be recognized, it may be necessary to initiate a revision of the Geneva Convention by adding an additional protocol or extending the article defining refugee status to include the climate and environmental character. Rwanda integrated disaster risk reduction into its development planning to ensure better disaster prevention. Rwanda needs to associate itself with neighboring and remote countries and international organizations to better manage environmental issues, particularly those related to climate change.