Legal Status and International Law Protection of Climate Refugees

The article is devoted to the analysis of the legal status and international law protection of climate refugees, whose number is rapidly growing in the context of global climate change. In this regard, it is necessary to consider the reasons for the formation of a legal vacuum: the lack of a generally accepted definition, the inapplicability of the 1951 Convention on the Status of Refugees and the limited number of regional agreements. Purpose: to analyse current approaches, such as the use of legal norms, development of “soft law” mechanisms, conclusion of regional agreements, as well as the formation of proposals for the creation of a separate international protection regime. Methods: the research is carried out using general scientific (logical, analysis, synthesis, induction, deduction) and specific scientific (formal legal, interpretation of legal norms) methods. Results: the article substantiates the need to combine the adaptation of existing norms with the formation of new institutions, as well as focuses on the use of preventive measures within the framework of international environmental law.