Green Grabbing-Induced Displacement

Whilst the study of the connections between the biophysical impacts of climate change and mobility have made substantial progress, very little attention has been given to the interactions between climate change policies, land grabs, and displacement. The aim of this chapter is to examine how these three major issues are interrelated in order to show the urgency for research and policy to treat them concomitantly. The first part of the chapter introduces the phenomenon of land grabbing with a focus on its drivers, scale, and definitions. Second, it concentrates on the green components of this trend by critically examining the impacts of two major climate change policies: biofuels and forest carbon projects. Third, drawing upon agrarian studies and categories from political economy/ecology, the chapter reviews some of the main impacts of these policies on displacement. Last, the chapter addresses some policy incoherences, protection mechanisms, and gaps of what I refer to as 'green-grabbing induced displacement', concluding with some research implications for the field of environmental migration.