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Orphans of the Earth: Climate Refugees in Young Adult Science Fiction

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

The climate crisis is emerging as a major driver of migration. Climate refugees—those displaced by climate disasters or gradual ecological degradation—are likely to play a significant role in global migration patterns as climate impacts intensify. This evolving crisis presents challenges for educators and remains underexplored in critical scholarship, yet it is already influencing literary narratives. In contemporary young adult (YA) fiction, climate refugees take on the archetypal role of the orphan, a destabilizing figure that disrupts social structures. This essay examines War Girls (2019) by Tochi Onyebuchi and The Marrow Thieves (2017) by Cherie Dimaline to highlight how these novels depict climate refugees as both vulnerable and transformative figures.
Original languageEnglish
JournalClimate Literacy in Education
Volume3
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - 2025

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

  1. SDG 13 - Climate Action
    SDG 13 Climate Action
  2. SDG 16 - Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
    SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

Keywords

  • climate change
  • climate refugee
  • environmental destruction
  • migration
  • orphans

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