climate refugees

What climate refugees does

Climate Refugees is a US-based nonprofit human rights organization founded by Amali Tower that conducts field-based research, produces policy briefs, and runs advocacy campaigns on climate-induced displacement. The organization operates without commercial technology products; its core deliverables are qualitative research outputs — country reports, case studies, news analysis ("Spotlight"), field storytelling ("Perspectives"), and the "DISPATCH" email newsletter — produced through on-the-ground interviews and expert contributions from climate-vulnerable regions across Africa (Lake Chad Basin, Kenya, Somalia, Sahel), Central America (Guatemala, Honduras), the US-Mexico borderlands, Asia (Philippines, Mongolia), and the Middle East.

The organization's go-to-market is community- and policy-led rather than commercial. It distributes content free of charge through its website (climate-refugees.org), republishes via UN and media partners (UNHCR, IOM, KJZZ/NPR, The Border Chronicle podcast, La Ruta del Clima), and submits research directly to policymakers and UN climate negotiations (COP26, COP28, COP30). Its revenue model is donation- and grant-driven through ActBlue and foundation support; it is described as 100 percent independent and volunteer-supported with a stated headcount band of 1–10.

The beneficiary populations are climate-displaced persons globally, while the organization's principal "customers" in a strategic sense are policymakers (US State Department PRM, USAID), UN agencies (UNHCR, IOM, UNEP), peer NGOs, and journalists who consume its research as input into governance frameworks on climate migration, loss and damage, and human rights protections.

Name

climate refugees

Legal name

Climate Refugees

Website

https://climate-refugees.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Climate Refugees is a small, US-based nonprofit that produces field research, policy briefs, and advocacy campaigns documenting climate-induced displacement for use by policymakers, UN agencies, peer NGOs, and media.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Climate Displacement Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Immigrant & Refugee Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Refugee, Migration & Displacement Support (BPAGABAH), Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH)

Keywords

• Climate displacement research
• Human rights advocacy
• Nonprofit policy research
• Environmental migration reporting
• Climate justice storytelling

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Grants: Climate Refugees operates as a nonprofit organization funded through public donations (via ActBlue platform) and likely grant funding from foundations and donors. The website prominently features a donate button and states 'our work is enabled through generous supporters.' No commercial revenue-generating products or services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Climate Refugees is a human rights nonprofit that researches and documents climate-induced displacement through frontline field reporting, expert interviews, and case studies. It produces country reports, policy briefs, field journals, and editorial content (Spotlight, Perspectives, DISPATCH newsletter), and runs the "Forced to Move: A Climate Story" advocacy campaign. The organization engages governments, UN agencies, NGOs, and the public to advocate for human rights–based protections for people displaced by climate change.

Product overview

Climate Refugees is a human rights organization focused on advocacy, research, and storytelling rather than a traditional tech product company. Its offerings consist of research publications (reports, briefs, case studies), news analysis platforms (Spotlight, Perspectives), and advocacy tools (DISPATCH newsletter, storytelling campaigns). These products work together to document climate displacement cases, raise awareness, influence policy, and advocate for the rights of climate-displaced populations worldwide.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Research cited as evidence of loss and damage at COP26 and COP28
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Latin America Working Group (LAWG)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 August 2020Climate Refugees contributed expertise to a joint-NGO report with LAWG, KIND, Oxfam America, Church World Service (CWS Global), and Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA) on US-Central America relations and migration policy.
• KIND (Kids in Need of Defense)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 August 2020Partnered on joint-NGO report mapping ways the United States can restore protections for migrants and refugees through policy recommendations.
• Oxfam AmericacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 August 2020Co-authored report on transforming US relations with Northern Central American countries addressing climate change impacts on migration.
• Church World Service (CWS Global)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 August 2020Partnership on joint report addressing US policy recommendations for protecting human rights and supporting climate-affected populations in Central America.
• Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 August 2020Collaborated on policy roadmap for transforming US relations with Central American countries including climate displacement considerations.
• Zoological Society of London (ZSL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2008ZSL partnered with fisherfolk communities in Pedada village, Ilo-ilo, Philippines to support mangrove rehabilitation projects. ZSL provided technical guidance, training, and education on mangrove forest management to help communities build climate resilience against typhoon impacts.
• UNHCRcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClimate Refugees' work is referenced by UNHCR in reporting on climate displacement. The organization's Lake Chad Basin report was republished by IOM's Environmental Migration Portal. Founder worked for UNHCR in resettlement programs.
• International Organization for Migration (IOM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIOM republished Climate Refugees' Lake Chad Basin report on their Environmental Migration Portal. Organization contributes to IOM's understanding of climate-displacement nexus.
• UNEP (UN Environment Programme)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUNEP supports ecosystem-based adaptation projects globally. Climate Refugees reports on water insecurity and adaptation in Middle East align with UNEP frameworks.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Refugees International: Refugees International is an advocacy and policy nonprofit that conducts field-based research and directly advocates to governments and the UN on displacement crises, including climate-related displacement. It shares Climate Refugees' model of pairing frontline research with high-level policy advocacy.
• Forced Migration Review: Forced Migration Review publishes field-based analysis, case studies, and commentary on displacement, including dedicated issues on climate change and displacement. It is comparable to Climate Refugees' Reports/Briefs and Perspectives publishing model aimed at practitioner and policymaker audiences.
• Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC): IDMC is the leading global monitor of internal displacement, producing data and analysis on climate- and disaster-driven displacement. It is the most direct comparable to Climate Refugees in terms of producing authoritative evidence on climate-driven migration, though IDMC focuses on internal displacement while Climate Refugees emphasizes cross-border and rights-based angles.
• Platform on Disaster Displacement (PDD): PDD is a multi-stakeholder initiative implementing the Agenda for the Protection of Cross-Border Displaced Persons in the Context of Disasters and Climate Change. It is a direct thematic peer operating specifically at the climate-displacement policy intersection where Climate Refugees advocates.

Broad incumbents

• International Rescue Committee (IRC): IRC is a major humanitarian NGO responding to displacement crises worldwide and has published on climate as a driver of displacement. It is a broader incumbent offering overlapping policy advocacy at significantly larger scale than Climate Refugees.
• Norwegian Refugee Council: NRC is a large international humanitarian organization operating across displacement crises globally and increasingly publishing on climate-driven displacement. It is a broader incumbent that overlaps Climate Refugees' mandate around climate-displaced persons but at much greater operational scale.

Others

• Center for Climate and Security: An advisory council on the security implications of climate change, on whose advisory board Climate Refugees' founder sits. It is thematically adjacent and an ecosystem peer, producing policy analysis that intersects Climate Refugees' work on climate-induced displacement.
• Brookings Institution - Migration Policy Program: Brookings produces high-profile research on climate migration and US migration policy, frequently cited alongside Climate Refugees' field reports. It is an adjacent policy-research peer whose outputs target the same government and think-tank audiences.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/climate-refugees

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about climate refugees