Modern slavery: the hidden obstacle to achieving climate justice in the Asia-Pacific region, and beyond

While many developed countries have committed to tackling the global challenge of slavery, there has been little policy recognition that climate change and climate disasters are key drivers of these hidden exploitative practices. This article aims to bridge this divide by presenting evidence that climate-displaced persons have been targeted by traffickers or, facing limited alternatives, have voluntarily entered into exploitative employment in industries which are themselves fuelling the climate crisis. Having established modern slavery as a climate justice issue, the author will demonstrate that developed countries have tended to treat the two as distinct problems to be solved separately, resulting in a siloed approach to two closely connected issues. Alternative approaches, which incorporate modern slavery considerations into climate change mitigation and adaptation frameworks and vice versa, will be considered, with a view to achieving better outcomes for victims of climate disasters who have thus far remained invisible. In particular, case studies from developed and developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region, which possesses both a high vulnerability to climatic hazards and over half of the world’s modern slavery victims, will be of particular relevance throughout.