Climate change is displacing people in the UK. What happens next depends on us.
- Liz Gadd
- Mar 11
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 16
When we hear about climate change forcing people from their homes, most of us think about other countries. Yet displacement is already happening here in the UK. Flooding pushes families out of their homes for months. Coastal erosion makes homes impossible to insure or sell. Overheating turns poorly insulated housing into unsafe living spaces during heatwaves. These pressures do not land evenly. They hit hardest where housing quality is poor, incomes are low, and support is thin.
We are pleased to share: Close to Home: A rapid review of climate-linked displacement in the UK. We wrote it because this issue sits in plain sight, yet it lacks a shared language, curated evidence base, and strategies for action.
What we found
To create a shared picture of climate-linked displacement in the UK, we drew on desk research and interviews with organisations, policy analysts and local communities. Three clear insights emerged.
1. Climate change is already displacing people from their homes in the UK.
People are already being forced from their homes, both temporarily and permanently, because of flooding, coastal erosion and extreme heat. Although no-one is immune, some are more deeply affected. People facing social and economic disadvantage experience the greatest risks and have the least capacity to recover.
Displacement of people in the UK linked to climate impacts is likely to increase over the coming decades. We will need more strategic, long-term strategies to manage these pressures fairly and effectively.
2. Communities on the frontline of climate change need targeted engagement and support
People displaced from their homes need practical and financial support. Some communities may require longer term solutions, including relocation support in the most exposed places. Currently, there is little by way of compensation for impacted people. Insurers and mortgage lenders are increasingly nervous about properties in high-risk areas. Many people say they feel abandoned rather than supported.
There are no easy solutions, but it's clear that a more honest conversation - and strategy for action - is needed about the impacts of climate change on local communities. The UK needs a stronger and more coordinated climate adaptation policy across local and national governments, which can properly engage with and support people on the frontline.
3. There is growing energy behind UK climate displacement work
Across the UK, charities, researchers and community groups are starting to address climate displacement. This work spans climate and environment organisations, insurance bodies, emergency response groups, housing and planning specialists, and human rights advocates.
Communities and organisations are raising the issue through research, policy work, campaigning, legal action and community organising. There is a growing evidence base about the issues.
Much of this activity remains under-resourced and relatively low profile. But it reflects a shared recognition that this issue needs attention now.
What we hope this briefing will do
We hope this briefing catalyses thoughtful conversations about the complex dynamics and trade-offs in this area. What support do communities need before, during and after displacement? Who pays, and who benefits? How do we avoid leaving households trapped in unsafe homes they cannot sell, insure, or repair? How can civil society and community groups best work together to move this issue forward?
We should not wait for the next national crisis to start working together. The evidence and experience already exist. What is needed to take this forward is coordination, resourcing, and a central role for impacted communities.
We see funders playing a distinctive role, nurturing the great work already underway. Philanthropy can move early and support communities to act before crises escalate. It can fund practical pilots, test new approaches and generate evidence about what works, helping shape stronger public policy and statutory responses.
Philanthropy can also fund the connective work that often falls between systems. Climate displacement sits across housing, health, poverty, disability, planning and human rights. Flexible funding can support trusted community organisations and intermediaries that link these areas together and translate evidence into action, help them to act quickly, share learning and build solutions that work locally and nationally.
Call to action
If you deliver or fund work on climate, nature based solutions, poverty, housing, health, disability, migration or racial justice, or if you are directly impacted by climate-linked displacement, this briefing is for you.
Please read it. Share it. Use it to start conversations inside your organisation and with partners.
We would welcome approaches from charities, funders and policy makers who want to explore what fair and workable support could look like for communities facing climate-linked displacement in the UK. We hope that our launch webinar, kindly hosted by the Environmental Funders Network will bring many more people into the conversation - see link below. We look forward to further discussions and explorations of what comes next.
Individual action alone will not address these challenges. Coordinated, well funded action can help ensure everyone in the UK has a safe and healthy place to live, as the climate changes.
Download Report
Sign up to join the Launch Webinar on 29 April 2026, 1.00-2.00
Contact us to continue the conversation
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