All That Is Solid Melts into Mobility: Climate-Related (Im)Mobility As a Socio-Ecological Question

How do social inequalities drive climate-related migration and how does climate mobility accelerate and aggravate existing social inequalities locally and globally? The nexus between environmental degradation and (im)mobility & migration is not a new phenomenon. Rather the great acceleration of socio-ecological change increasingly undermines the foundations of human and non-human life. This increased velocity adds to the politicization of social inequalities around climate-related migration. The politics around the nexus constitutes the socio-ecological question which refers to the double exploitation of land and labour, and the social closure against non-members of national states. This contribution contextualizes the new socio-ecological question, analyses the nexus between climate change and (im)mobility, and offers ways for a constructive and future-oriented strategy to respond to socio-ecological challenges.