Adapting to Climate Change through Migration

Climate change is ongoing, which means that adaptation to climate change is increasingly important. Many individuals in the Global South will respond to climate change by attempting to migrate to the Global North. Government policies in response to this migration will have significant consequences for migrants, residents of sending countries, and residents of border regions. Currently, policy responses to climate change–induced migration frame it as a security problem to be solved using militarized force. This orients policymakers towards solutions administered by hierarchical, monocentric bureaucracies, which feature significant knowledge problems and incentive problems. We contrast this with a polycentric approach, in which local governments, private firms, and voluntary associations adapt to the changes caused by climate migration. We argue that such an approach would reduce the human costs of climate change.

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