Climate change vulnerability and mobility among children and youth in Ethiopia: Current policy dilemmas and recommendations

All over the world, people are feeling the effects of unprecedented, intensifying and in some instances irreversible climate change. Those growing up in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to these changes. This report focuses on how children and youth in Ethiopia - a country with well-established migration traditions – experience and respond to severe climate change impacts. The report draws attention to the complex ways climate change interacts with other migration driving factors. It shows that human mobility often constitutes a viable adaptation strategy to slow onset climate change, whereas extreme weather events tend to lead to significant human displacement, often with severe consequences for children and youth’s ability to establish viable futures. Based on available research and policy analysis, the report summarises existing knowledge on the relationships between climate change vulnerability, child and youth mobility and child/youth sensitive social protection mechanisms with the aim to identify the main policy dilemmas confronting policymakers and practitioners.