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E.g., 06/15/2026
Julian Hattem
Experts & Staff
Photo of Julian Hattem

Julian Hattem

Editor, Migration Information Source

202 266 1906

Julian Hattem is Editor of the Migration Information Source, the online journal of the Migration Policy Institute, and is responsible for its content and publication.

Before joining MPI, he spent a decade as a journalist focusing on international migration, politics, and conflict. He has been on staff with the Associated Press, The Hill, and the Yomiuri Shimbun, and has been awarded journalism fellowships from the Heinrich Boell Foundation North America and the International Reporting Project to report on migration in Southern Europe and Southeast Asia. As a freelance journalist he reported from four continents, and his articles have been published by outlets including the Guardian, the Washington Post, Public Radio International, World Politics Review, National Public Radio, and Quartz.

Mr. Hattem holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Chicago and a master’s degree in conflict studies from the London School of Economics.

Bio Page Tabs

People walk along an embankment in Bangladesh

While the term "climate refugee” is often used colloquially, people displaced by environmental factors are not actually eligible for refugee status on that basis. However, policymakers and advocates have begun to experiment with approaches to protection by other means. This article reviews the initiatives, including a novel visa in Australia and the ways that longstanding legal frameworks have been used to encompass people deeply affected by climate change.

People in South Sudan fleeing conflict in Sudan.

The international humanitarian protection system built amid the ashes of World War II has come under increasing strain, as record numbers of people flee internationally and travel farther distances. New barriers to protection in destination countries have captured public attention, but governments are also experimenting with ways to offer sanctuary, which could signal a remaking of the global system, as this article explains.

Climate Change Is Making People Sick. Can Migration Help?
Expert Q&A, Audio
May 26, 2026

Leaving a climate-vulnerable place can potentially lead to better health outcomes for individuals, but only under the right circumstances. This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration features economist and researcher Ilse Ruyssen, who discusses the intersection of climate change, migration, and health.

Priced Out: Climate Change, Home Insurance, and the People Stuck in the Middle
Expert Q&A, Audio
April 23, 2026

Climate change is making home insurance more expensive and less available, which can push some people to relocate or force others to either pay more money or go without insurance and risk catastrophe. This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration features Talley Burley from the Environmental Defense Fund.

First Displacement, then Disasters: How Refugees Contend with Climate Change
Expert Q&A, Audio
April 9, 2026

Refugees are among the people most vulnerable to climate change. This episode of the Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast focuses on these impacts, with insights from Ayoo Irene Hellen, a South Sudanese refugee in Uganda and climate advocate. 

Climate Displacement from Indigenous Lands
Expert Q&A, Audio
February 23, 2026

What happens when climate change and other factors force Indigenous people off their ancestral homelands? Environmental scientist Jessica Hernandez, a climate justice and Indigenous advocate, joins this episode of the Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast to discuss the factors compelling migration for Indigenous communities, their experiences after migration and the dearth of Indigenous voices in policy discussions.

River in Udaipur region during the dry season. Several families have lost their houses
Video, Audio
January 27, 2026

This webinar focuses on how climate change is altering human mobility and offers insights into on-the-ground experiences of climate change and migration in East Africa, South Asia, and other global contexts.

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Recent Activity

Expert Q&A, Audio
May 26, 2026

Leaving a climate-vulnerable place can potentially lead to better health outcomes for individuals, but only under the right circumstances. This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration features economist and researcher Ilse Ruyssen, who discusses the intersection of climate change, migration, and health.

Expert Q&A, Audio
April 23, 2026

Climate change is making home insurance more expensive and less available, which can push some people to relocate or force others to either pay more money or go without insurance and risk catastrophe. This episode of Changing Climate, Changing Migration features Talley Burley from the Environmental Defense Fund.

Expert Q&A, Audio
April 9, 2026

Refugees are among the people most vulnerable to climate change. This episode of the Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast focuses on these impacts, with insights from Ayoo Irene Hellen, a South Sudanese refugee in Uganda and climate advocate. 

Articles

While the term "climate refugee” is often used colloquially, people displaced by environmental factors are not actually eligible for refugee status on that basis. However, policymakers and advocates have begun to experiment with approaches to protection by other means. This article reviews the initiatives, including a novel visa in Australia and the ways that longstanding legal frameworks have been used to encompass people deeply affected by climate change.

Expert Q&A, Audio
February 23, 2026

What happens when climate change and other factors force Indigenous people off their ancestral homelands? Environmental scientist Jessica Hernandez, a climate justice and Indigenous advocate, joins this episode of the Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast to discuss the factors compelling migration for Indigenous communities, their experiences after migration and the dearth of Indigenous voices in policy discussions.

Video, Audio, Webinars
January 27, 2026

This webinar focuses on how climate change is altering human mobility and offers insights into on-the-ground experiences of climate change and migration in East Africa, South Asia, and other global contexts.

Expert Q&A, Audio
January 26, 2026

Africa may be the most climate-vulnerable region of the world. How prepared is the continent for a future of increased displacement? This episode of the Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast speaks with Aimée-Noël Mbiyozo, a senior research consultant at the South Africa-based Institute for Security Studies.

Expert Q&A, Audio
December 16, 2025

A complicated web of financial and other factors affects whether climate-vulnerable individuals want to—or even can—move. This episode of the Changing Climate, Changing Migration podcast speaks with researcher Kelsea Best about climate (im)mobility and the economic and other factors that help shape futures amid changing climates.

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