Feasibility study to generate statistics on climate-induced migration and ways forward

To monitor the impact of climate change on migration, data is needed to track both migration and climate change trends. Considering that detailed data on migration and international protection is collected by Eurostat under Regulation (EC) No 862/2007, Commission Regulation (EU) No 351/2010, and the provisions of Regulation (EU) 2020/851 on the optimal use of already collected data, Eurostat’s regular data collection should remain the primary source of migration data caused by climate change to support policy-making. To map existing migration data related to climate change, it is necessary to: a) consider all types of migration and relevant data sources (datasets); these data should be b) available regularly and collected over a longer period (long-term time series); c) indicate possible climate-related movements caused by both sudden disasters and long-term environmental changes. In most cases, the availability of data and potential gaps are assessed based on migration data available in Eurostat’s databases. The goal is to identify possible climate change indicators that can be linked to migration flows. This includes finding indicators suitable for measuring and monitoring climate change-related migration flows by combining existing migration and climate/environmental statistics or, if necessary, proposing changes to the current data collection process.