Families being relocated due to flooding and landslides in a refugee camp in Bangladesh. UN Women/Allison Joyce

Governments must take into account the risks of climate change when considering a refugee’s claim for asylum, the United Nations Human Rights Committee has ruled in a landmark case. The decision could protect refugees from climate change-stricken nations from being deported back to their home countries.

“The ruling says if you have an immediate threat to your life due to climate change, due to the climate emergency, and if you cross the border and go to another country, you should not be sent back because you would be at ri