She explains that she was motivated to start researching the findings she is now presenting at COP30 with international project partners as many people chose to remain, or are not able to leave, in spite of climate risk and disasters. This fact made her reflect on the current focus in climate and migration research that frames displacement as a key aspect of climate adaptation, particularly in the Global South.
"The concept of immobility has largely been ignored in policy and research. It has been taken for granted that people will leave places that are experiencing recurring floods or storms for example. Similarly, staying has been framed as something negative, something to be avoided," says Emily Boyd, Professor at Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies, LUCSUS.
"We want to challenge this narrative and highlight the need to understand why some people chose to stay or come back. Already we can see that the reasons are highly complex and depend much more on social factors than on climate drivers."
Since the project ITHACA (Immobility in a Changing Climate) started in 2023, Emily Boyd and project partners, based in Bahamas, Brazil, Ghana and Mozambique, have rolled out surveys in Latin America, including in the Amazon, as well as in Mozambique, Africa and in Falsterbo, Sweden – to drill deeper into what makes people stay. These locations differ in terms of economic affluence, and social vulnerability but they all face climate threats such as floods, storms, sea level rise, and land subsidence.
Early results from Mozambique show how people’s aspirations, including their hopes and dreams for the future, matters more for their choice to leave than climate drivers. Social networks emerge as a key reason as to why people stay in a place: underscoring how powerful the need to belong is in shaping people’s decisions.
"To make climate adaptation just, it is important to understand how climate drivers interplay with social factors. Maybe it is time to rethink who determines what is a habitable space; or reframe the notion of what is home? If people want to stay no matter what, then how will decision makers best help them to adapt, given that there are risks and trade-offs?"
Recognise immobility as a climate adaptation strategy
Emily Boyd hopes that one of the outcomes from the side event at COP30, entitled: Rootedness Despite Uncertainty: Immobility in a Changing Climate will be that authorities, civil society and other actors start to recognise immobility as a potential climate adaptation strategy.
"Now is the window to start to listen to and collaborate with communities in place. This will include investments, community engagement and a recognition of how climate finance ultimately needs to advance justice, dignity, and resilience," says Emily Boyd.
Emily Boyd will present ITACHAS’ recent results at the panel:
Rootedness Despite Uncertainty: Immobility in a Changing Climate,
Date and time: 13th November, 9:00–10:30 local time.
This side event explores why people stay despite escalating climate extremes. It brings attention to communities who are unable or unwilling to move, challenging mobility biases in adaptation policy. The discussion asks how climate finance can advance justice, dignity, and resilience for those who remain in exposed regions.
Drawing on new findings from the Belmont Forum–funded project ITHACA (Immobility in a Changing Climate), the event presents case studies from Ghana, Amazonia, and other climate-vulnerable regions, revealing the complexity of mobility decisions and the differentiated, intersectional effects of immobility- particularly along gender and social lines.
The panel will discuss how policy and practice can respond to and build on the innovations emerging from immobility research, ensuring that those who stay are recognized and supported in climate adaptation and finance agendas.
Read more about the event and register on the event page
The project ITHACA
ITHACA, ImmobiliTy in a cHAnging ClimAte, is led by LUCSUS in collaboration with researchers in the Bahamas, Brazil, Ghana and Mozambique. It is funded by the Belmont Forum, a partnership of funding organisations, international science councils, and regional consortia committed to the advancement of transdisciplinary science. Other funders include Formas, Vetenskaprådet, SIDA, National Science Foundation, and the Inter-American Institute. It will run for 3 years.
Read more about the research in Lund University Research Portal
Watch a video featuring the main research themes in the ITHACA project.
