A recent report published by the Climate Security & Peace Project (CS2P) and the Climate, Energy & Security Program of IRIS highlights the downside of biodiversity conservation in the protected areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The country is part of the 17 megadiverse countries in the world with more than half its territory covered by dense forests. Drawing on data from the Virunga National Park, the author shows how the militarization of biodiversity protection is threatening the security and rights of local communities.

Traditionally, defence establishments have been hesitant to include climate change on the security agenda. Being focused on national security, the militaries have put a blind eye to their colossal fuel consumption. Militaries have largely been exempted from national requirements to cut emissions. Similarly, environmental activists, analysts and researchers paid little attention to military emissions, also reluctantly approaching military practices.

Militaries are some of the largest emitters of greenhouse gases, but their emissions have received limited attention amidst the global decarbonisation movement. One organisation that is trying to put military emissions on the agenda is the Conflict and Environment Observatory (CEOBS). CEOBS collects data on the emissions by militaries around the world and hopes to put military emissions on the table at COP27.

After more than 40 years of intermittent conflict, dictatorship, and foreign intervention, Iraq is riven with socio-economic crises, sectarian and ethnic tensions, and fraying social cohesion, some of which risk contributing to further violence. Since the territorial defeat of the so-called Islamic State (IS) in 2017, however, Iraq has experienced few major hostilities, though the extremist group continues to terrorize certain areas.

On February 1-4 2022, The Environmental Peacebuilding Association (EnPAx) and the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (IHEID) will be organizing the second International Conference on Environmental Peacebuilding, which

Report launch event 'Climate Security in the Bay of Bengal' on 15 February (11.00 - 12.30 CET; 15.30 - 17.00 IST). Register here.   

The Bay of Bengal (BoB) region is emerging as an important focal point for climate security risks. This is largely due to a multi-layered interplay of geopolitical, geostrategic, and climate-related regional dynamics. It forms the final leg between West and East Asia. It is 2.173 million sq km large; accounts for approximately 4.7% of the global economy; and a quarter of the world’s population lives along its coastline. At the catchment of a critical global chokepoint—the Malacca Strait—the BoB is an important sub-region in the international connectivity discourse

The climate in the Middle East and North Africa is warming up twice as fast as the average global temperature rise, but in Iraq, this is happening two to seven times faster.

Solomon Islands is presently in the middle of civil unrest. Violence erupted over concerns that the government is increasingly operating under the unwarranted political influence of China. The impacts of climate change can be considered an underlying driver of the tensions. Shifting weather patterns, reduced fishing grounds and the threat of sea-level rise place considerable strain on island populations.

The first-ever resolution calling for stepped-up international efforts to understand and respond to the implications of climate change for peace and security was vetoed by Russia on Monday, 14 December. The resolution calls on UN Secretary-General António Guterres to deliver a report on the security implications of climate change for the regions and countries on the Council’s agenda by December 2023. It also asks UN peacekeeping and political missions to pay attention to climate-related risks in their areas of operation.