Poster Climate+Flight

Klicke hier für die deutsche Version des Begleittexts.

The poster Climate+Flight: an unconventional approach to render the complex relationships between climate change and the emergence of flight movements visible and accessible. Aspects previously prepared with the inclusion of perspectives from the Global South and Global North were graphically implemented by a cartoonist and are now available here online!

Please use a (wireless) LAN connection to zoom deeper into the poster due to a large data volume that needs to be loaded when fully zoomed in.

Climate change and flight: What are the links?

Man-made global warming is one of the greatest challenges facing humankind today. Changes associated with climate change are destroying people's environments and livelihoods. The people in the countries of the Global North are primarily responsible for the harmful greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change. The consequences of climate change, on the other hand, are mainly visible in the countries of the Global South. In other words, climate change contributes to increasing global injustice.

Meanwhile, increasing environmental disasters, especially in the countries of the Global South, are driving more and more people to leave their homes. Many different factors such as the loss of livelihoods or wars lead to flight or migration, which are further accentuated by climate change and its consequences. Migration movements take place both inside (internal migration) and beyond the continents. Thus, people seeking protection in Europe are also escaping the direct or indirect consequences of climate change.

... and where can I find out more?

These migration movements are also known as environmental migration. Further information on causes, consequences and global links can be found in the Atlas of Environmental Migration (in German Language) of the Federal Agency for Civic Education (BPB). The Association for Development Policy and Humanitarian Aid (VENRO) also addresses this issue in a position paper (in German language). Also, the Association for Development Policy of Lower Saxony (VEN) has developed a web dossier (in German language) where it presents different individual reasons for an escape.

The poster Climate+Flight: What topics are included?

The poster Climate+Flight contains various aspects of the complex topic "climate change as a cause of flight". You can discover the links between harmful greenhouse gas emissions and climate change and its different driving factors such as individual mobility, coal based power production and industrial farming. Global connections are visible as well. The direct and indirect reasons for flight, perpetuated by climate change, can also be found (e.g. loss of livelihoods and the exploitation of economic resources). On the other hand you can see different alternatives and social movements aiming for change. Examples are climate neutral power production and community garden projects. Have a look yourself and see what you can discover!

Use of the poster: Digital or printed?

The poster Climate+Flight is both information and educational material. It is directed at young people and young adults as well as multipliers in non-formal education. For the interested public it is available online here. In educational work, for example, it can be used as part of a workshop or in self-study. The digital version can be used for this. For the educational work, the print version of the picture can also be requested at eine-welt@janun.de.

Over time, a collection of ideas for the use of the poster in educational work will be developed. We would therefore be happy to receive your examples of use at eine-welt@janun.de.


The rights for the poster Climate+Flight are held by JANUN Lüneburg e.V. and JANUN e.V.. The graphical realization was done by cartoonist Markus Wende.

The creation of the poster: What perspectives have been incorporated?

In October 2017, the search began for new formats for the presentation of complex subject areas, in this case specifically for the connections between climate change and causes of flight. The results were supposed to be useful as educational material, but also appealing to the interested public. The impulse originated in the Eine Welt-Promotor*innen-Programm in the Lüneburg region; in November, a freelance researcher began her work. Her focus was on the target group "young people and young adults". The first idea - the representation in a poster - quickly became reality. For the further research the support of experts was sought. It was our concern to broaden our western perspective on the subject area by involving activists from the Global South. For this we were able to win Joseph Kenson Sakala, co-founder of the NGO YSD Malawi.

In its creation it was of great concern to all participants to find a presentation that was as racism-critical, sexism-free and as not white-dominated as possible. We found it particularly important to emphasize the diversity and heterogeneity of places and experiences. As a result, various actors in the picture are made visible. Therefore, in all areas of the picture (Global South and Global North) those responsible for and affected by climate change can be identified. In the presentation, care was taken not to reproduce stereotypes and racism.