Understanding mobility through climate risk perceptions

Kathleen Hermans and Setenay Kizilkaya

EconStor Open Access Articles and Book Chapters, 2025, vol. 16, issue 6, No e70029, 15 pages

Abstract: Climate change significantly affects human lives and drives human mobility through stressors such as extreme weather events, sea level rise, and prolonged droughts. To understand how these climate stressors influence mobility, it is essential to explore climate risk perceptions, which encompass threats to health, property, livelihoods, and wider socioeconomic systems. While research on climate risk perceptions and mobility is growing, it remains fragmented, with studies dispersed across disciplines and regions, and lacking synthesis on how different dimensions of perception shape mobility decisions. To address this gap, we synthesize the current research on how climate risk perceptions shape mobility decisions. First, we review methodologies used to assess climate change risk perceptions and link them to mobility. Second, we explore three mechanisms—in situ adaptation, livelihoods, and place attachment—through which risk perceptions influence mobility. We show that climate risk perceptions, especially those related to livelihoods and emotional factors like worry, play a critical role in shaping whether people stay, adapt in place, or migrate. In situ adaptation strategies, such as improved agricultural practices or infrastructure, can reduce perceived risks and decrease migration intentions. Conversely, strong place attachment may deter migration, even when risks are perceived as high. Finally, we identify research priorities: refining methodologies, addressing the multidimensional nature of risk perceptions, and expanding studies to high‐income contexts. By placing perceptions at the center of analysis, this review advances our understanding of how people interpret climate threats and make mobility decisions.

Keywords: adaptation; climate change; climate mobilities; climate risk perceptions; migration (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:zbw:espost:341699

DOI: 10.1002/wcc.70029

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