Climate Change-Induced Migration in the Mediterranean Basin: Common Challenges for Spain and Türkiye

Migration, one of the threat multiplier effects of climate change, has the potential to become a key security issue in the following years, especially for countries with important migration routes such as Türkiye and Spain. Many countries will need significant transformations in their domestic policies regarding both international and internal migration. Impacts such as extreme weather events, drought, water scarcity, wildfires, and sea level rise resulting from global warming now have the capacity to affect all referent objects of security. Migration could now become forcible in certain societies that have difficulty coping with increasingly frequent climatic events and cannot adapt adequately. Climate change-induced migrations from Africa, the Pacific, and Small Island Developing States, which have a low share in global emissions but are among the regions most affected by climate change, and the Middle East and South Asia, are likely to be discussed as an important issue in terms of international security in the coming period. According to the Migration Data Portal’s 2021 estimates, approximately 216 million people could be displaced within the country due to environmental reasons by 2050; therefore, countries affected by climate change probably will also need to restructure their economic, social, and ecological Dynamics (Clement et al. 2021). In this sense, the study aims to examine how Spain and Türkiye, which are in the Mediterranean Basin and are frequently exposed to the impacts of climate change, such as high temperatures, floods, wildfires, drought, and water scarcity, are affected by international migration movements. For this purpose, it will emphasize that both countries should be prepared at the national and international security levels for climate change-induced migrations, considering their similar geographical locations and environmental challenges.

Key Words: Spain, Türkiye, Climate Change, Migration, International Security, National Security