Conceptualising Climate Violence: A Systematic Scoping Review

The term ‘climate violence’ is increasingly used to describe the intersection of climate change and violence. In the research literature, climate violence has been conceptualised in varied ways, reflected in emergent and intersecting definitions and descriptions. How concepts are understood and used in academic discourse impacts policy developments, including justice responses to violence and climate change. This paper scopes how the term ‘climate violence’ is defined and described in research literature, synthesising the current conceptual landscape to provide the foundational knowledge necessary for future development of a bounded interdisciplinary framework. A rigorous scoping review systematically analysed peer-reviewed, English-language literature published on or before November 13, 2023, that used the term ‘climate violence’ and offered an explicit definition or description of its components. Twenty-three articles met the criteria for inclusion, revealing that while the concept is emerging across diverse disciplines, it is rarely explicitly defined, and authorship is dominated by those located in Global North institutions. Through inductive analysis, three broad themes were identified as common features of climate violence; the phenomenon is fundamentally intersectional and structural, encompasses manifold forms of violence, and conceptualisations emphasise accountability and responsibility, primarily from states and corporations. This paper argues that a shared understanding of climate violence can support development of integrated, cross-sectoral policy responses that address its violent manifestations, underscoring the legal and moral obligations of states to protect human rights and mitigate climate change. Additionally, future research and practice implications of the climate violence concept are identified.