When the European Parliament voted last year against a resolution “on the impacts of climate change on vulnerable populations in developing countries,” the center-right European People’s Party based its opposition partly on remarks by Filippo Grandi, the United Nations high commissioner for refugees.
Grandi had told members of the European Parliament in May 2021 that when it comes to the term “climate refugees,” the UN Refugee Agency's position is that “we don’t believe that definition is the way forward.”
He said: “How do you define a ‘climate refugee’? Somebody fleeing a natural disaster? Somebody fleeing rising sea levels? Somebody fleeing drought or floods? It’s very complex.” Grandi added, “I would not advise that time is, may I say, used — wasted — arguing about definitions around which I can foresee no consensus in the international community.”