Climate displacement, whether international or domestic, raises a number of protection challenges at various levels. Some of them may be addressed through the existing international frameworks, including the international refugee regime or human rights law as well as nonbinding normative or policy frameworks, while, in a number of instances, protection gaps may arise.

The set of challenges is different, subject to the type of displacement. Climate displaced persons crossing international borders may or may not fall within the classical refugee law framework depending on the specific circumstances of their flight. This may be the case when the legal requirements under the 1951 Refugee Convention, as modified by the 1967 Protocol, are met, for example in the case of refugee flows provoked by climate-induced armed conflict. In such instances, international or regional refugee instruments are applicable.