Ways Climate, Conflict, and Migration Interact

The links between climate change, conflict, and human mobility are complex. In 2022, disasters internally displaced 32.6 million people, more than at any other time over the last decade. Most of these displacements occurred in areas that are fragile or conflict-prone. In fact, ninety percent of all refugees come from places that are some of the most vulnerable to climate-related impacts. Right now, these fragile regions already grapple with increased food insecurity, unemployment, and competition over resources – particularly water. In what ways does climate change exacerbate such situations? In what ways may that lead to conflict or forced migration?

In partnership with Green Umbrella, we invite students, educators, and community members for an evening exploring Climate Conflict and Climate Migration with Kayly Ober, Senior Program Officer for U.S. Institute of Peace.

Kayly Ober is a senior program officer for the climate, environment and conflict program at USIP. In this role, she leads research and analysis on climate change, migration and displacement as well as transboundary water and conflict issues.

Prior to USIP, she was the senior advocate and program manager of the climate displacement program at Refugees International. She also served as a member of the Task Force on Displacement established under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage. She has worked on climate change and migration issues for more than 15 years, during which time she has held positions at organizations such as the Asian Development Bank, the Overseas Development Institute, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, and the World Bank, where she authored the flagship report “Groundswell: Preparing for Internal Climate Migration.”

Ober holds a master’s in environment and development from the London School of Economics and a bachelor’s in international studies from American University. She is currently completing her doctorate in geography at the University of Bonn, where her dissertation analyzes policymaking and governance structures around the climate change-adaptation-migration nexus.