Prioritizing involuntary immobility in climate policy and disaster planning

Lisa Thalheimer; Fabien Cottier; A. Kruczkiewicz; Carolynne Hultquist; Cascade Tuholske; Hélène Benveniste; Jan Freihardt; Mona Hemmati; Pui Man Kam; Narcisa G. Pricope; Jamon Van Den Hoek; Andrew Zimmer; Alex de Sherbinin; Radley M. Horton

doi:10.1038/s41467-025-57679-9

Prioritizing involuntary immobility in climate policy and disaster planning

Lisa Thalheimer^*
, Fabien Cottier
, A. Kruczkiewicz
, Carolynne Hultquist
, Cascade Tuholske
, Hélène Benveniste
, Jan Freihardt
, Mona Hemmati
, Pui Man Kam
, Narcisa G. Pricope
, Jamon Van Den Hoek
, Andrew Zimmer
, Alex de Sherbinin
, Radley M. Horton

^*Corresponding author for this work

Department of Applied Earth Sciences

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

15 Citations (Scopus)

12 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Globally, populations are increasingly located in areas at high risk of climate change impacts. Some populations lack the agency to move out of harm’s way, leading to involuntary immobility. The climate risks these populations face are insufficiently addressed in climate policy and disaster planning. While policy and planning should be data-informed, the lack of appropriate data should not limit governments and institutions from taking action to reduce the risk of involuntary immobility. Incorporating involuntary immobility within the broader sustainable development goals of climate action and safe, orderly, and regular migration may substantially reduce the risk of involuntary immobility.

Original language	English
Article number	2581
Journal	Nature communications
Volume	16
Issue number	1
Early online date	16 Mar 2025
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57679-9
Publication status	Published - Dec 2025

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 13 Climate Action
SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals

Keywords

ITC-GOLD

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10.1038/s41467-025-57679-9Licence: CC BY

s41467-025-57679-9Final published version, 1.17 MBLicence: CC BY

Cite this

Thalheimer, L., Cottier, F., Kruczkiewicz, A., Hultquist, C., Tuholske, C., Benveniste, H., Freihardt, J., Hemmati, M., Kam, P. M., Pricope, N. G., Van Den Hoek, J., Zimmer, A., de Sherbinin, A., & Horton, R. M. (2025). Prioritizing involuntary immobility in climate policy and disaster planning. Nature communications, 16(1), Article 2581. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57679-9

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AU - Benveniste, Hélène

AU - Freihardt, Jan

AU - Hemmati, Mona

AU - Kam, Pui Man

AU - Pricope, Narcisa G.

AU - Van Den Hoek, Jamon

AU - Zimmer, Andrew

AU - de Sherbinin, Alex

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AB - Globally, populations are increasingly located in areas at high risk of climate change impacts. Some populations lack the agency to move out of harm’s way, leading to involuntary immobility. The climate risks these populations face are insufficiently addressed in climate policy and disaster planning. While policy and planning should be data-informed, the lack of appropriate data should not limit governments and institutions from taking action to reduce the risk of involuntary immobility. Incorporating involuntary immobility within the broader sustainable development goals of climate action and safe, orderly, and regular migration may substantially reduce the risk of involuntary immobility.

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Prioritizing involuntary immobility in climate policy and disaster planning

Abstract

UN SDGs

Keywords

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