The region has a forward-looking policy environment apt at finding pragmatic solutions for recent large scale migration and displacement. 

Regional Free Movement Agreements (FMAs), designed to facilitate economic migration, have served as ‘safety valves’ in situations of disaster. In 2017, the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) and the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) used their FMAs to enable the rapid relocation of hurricane-displaced populations from Dominica during Hurricane Maria. CARICOM’s recent decision to expand its FMA attests to State’s recognition that their economic fates are intertwined. It could also provide lifesaving and resilience-building climate mobility pathways in the face of future slow and sudden-onset climate hazards.

Most recently, in 2023, the OECS elevated climate mobility on the regional agenda through the Ministerial Declaration on Migration, Environment and Climate Change. The Declaration emphasizes actions that mitigate the need of vulnerable communities to relocate, while highlighting measures to enhance the benefits of migratory responses.

The forthcoming Chile Declaration and Action Plan, to be adopted in December 2024 on the 40th anniversary of the landmark 1984 Cartagena Declaration, will likely address protection needs of populations displaced across borders by disasters and other climate hazards. Additionally, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is expected to deliver an advisory opinion on the scope of state obligations, including in the context of “involuntary human mobility exacerbated by the climate emergency.” The Commission’s opinion could guide national courts and regional norms going forward. 

These promising initiatives serve as stepping stones for regional policy cooperation. What’s missing is a common agenda and framework to plan for climate mobility.