This week, the EU adopted a new strategy laying out how the EU will address the growing impact of climate change and environmental degradation in the fields of peace, security, and defence. The document, which is officially called a Joint Communication was adopted by the EU executive arm and diplomatic service, the European Commission and European External Action Service.
The effects of climate change play out very differently in various contexts. Depending on the prevailing social, economic, and political conditions, as well as other key influential factors, some places and communities are more or less likely to see their security and living conditions severely affected by adverse climatic conditions.
On 13 June, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) held a ministerial-level open debate on climate change, peace and security—the latest in a series of UNSC meetings on the topic. While many ministerial statements focused on the nexus of climate change, instability, and conflict, the conversation underscored how today’s competitive geop
Research in 2020 found that 12 out of the 20 countries most vulnerable to climate change were also affected by conflict.
The energy crisis has sparked a rethink of how Europe defines and prioritises its energy security. The strategic importance of energy and its interconnected nature at physical, political and trade levels makes the interaction between energy security, security and foreign policy inevitable. Russia using energy as a weapon and the repositioning of Europe in a world of great power competition, where climate impacts increasingly hit, has changed energy interests and how they relate to security.
Sampling bias poses enormous challenges to research as it can undermine the validity of results, cause significant knowledge gaps, result in research that is driven by convenience rather than need and limit the ability to provide policy advice. In this study, I assess potential sampling biases in the rapidly emerging research field of environmental peacebuilding based on a systematic review of the peer-reviewed literature.
The extended period of violent conflict experienced in the tri-border region of Liptako Gourma is the result of complex political, economic, environmental, and security governance crises. Since 2015, violence has spread from northern Mali into Burkina Faso and Niger, and, more recently, to the coastal countries that share close ties with the Southern Sahel.
Climate security risks are becoming increasingly noticeable. Extreme heat and drought aggravate water and food insecurity in the world’s already most fragile countries. Extreme weather events lead to more calls for military assistance at home and abroad, unbearable living conditions force people to migrate, and melting ice in the Arctic heightens existing tensions between world powers. Climate interventions can contribute to peace and stability, but can also exacerbate inequalities or lead to concerns over a new form of (climate) imperialism.
The wildfires raging in Canada are yet another reminder that climate change is already having an impact on all our lives. As the smoke clears around the United Nations building in New York, we are likely to see a renewed push for the UN Security Council to tackle the security risks posed by climate change, including in the upcoming New Agenda for Peace policy brief from UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Climate change is often described as a ‘threat multiplier’ that intensifies human insecurity and can thus lead to conflicts as well as migration. The interconnections between climate change, conflict and migration are complex and dynamic, however, with no simple line of causality.
