The literature on climate migration is increasingly concerned with linking the natural-environmental and socio-cultural dimensions of risk response. However, the epistemological disjuncture between ‘objective’ and subjective accounts of the environment is an impediment. In particular, despite clear evidence of mutual relevance, work on the emotional landscape of climate change has remained separate from more systematic analyses. Aiming to resolve this, this paper uses the case of a Cambodian beggar to show how recent developments across three fields have laid the groundwork for the structural and emotional dimensions of climate change response to be engaged with under a coherent theoretical rubric.