Climate migration is no longer a distant scenario; it is now a present-day challenge. Around the world, rising seas, shifting rainfall patterns, flooding, droughts, and heatwaves are forcing people from their homes through both slow-onset pressures and sudden, catastrophic events. Irrespective of whether people are forced to leave their homes gradually or overnight, the human consequences are profound. Climate-induced migration affects livelihoods, people’s health and identity, and stability. Current knowledge on this growing crisis largely overlooks faith actors, even though they offer material aid, emotional support, spiritual guidance, and a sense of belonging to people facing displacement. Despite their frontline presence, the contributions and needs of faith actors are often missing from climate policy, humanitarian programming, and academic literature. Rather, their actions are incorporated into broader responses led by governments and NGOs or left undocumented altogether. Yet in many places, these actors are not only the first responders, they are the only consistent presence accompanying displaced people before, during, and after their journeys.

This report aims to better understand and elevate the role of religion and faith actors in response to climate-induced migration. It draws on a comprehensive literature review produced by the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLI) in collaboration with Christian Aid, and the insights garnered from listening dialogues[1] held in South Asia, East Africa, and Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). These dialogues brought together community leaders, faith actors, researchers, and humanitarian workers to reflect on what faith actors are already doing, and most importantly, what support they need to continue their work in a time of growing challenges.

French version available here

Spanish version available here