There is no doubt the global climate is being driven to a cliff edge by anthropogenic behaviour. Toppling over will see seismic changes to life on earth that are virtually unimaginable for a species that has thrived in the relatively stable conditions of the last 12,000 years.
Sri Lanka, officially declared ‘bankrupt’ by its government, is facing the worst crisis in decades. Protesters stormed the Presidential palace in July 2022; and former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country.
New data and case-based evidence suggests that locations with seasonal climate variations may face a higher risk of civilian targeting than locations with permanent harsh climatic conditions. Focusing on the Sahel and the Sahara Desert transition zone, this report develops a conditional policy framework to better understand the causes of and improve preparedness for climate-driven civilian targeting by armed actors.
The International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS) has released the second volume of its 2022 World Climate Security Report. This volume examines findings from analysis conducted of climate security risks in the Balkans using the Climate Security Risk Index (CSRI).
Water is an existential resource, and Iran is squandering it. The country has lost more than 200 cubic kilometers of its total water storage over the last two decades, and groundwater levels have dropped by around 28 centimeters per year on average. Ecologically exhausted, Iran is vulnerable to global warming and the manifestations of a broken hydrological cycle: droughts and desertification as well as flash floods.
Climate change and its security implications are placing considerable pressures on peacebuilding efforts in Somalia. The country is currently experiencing its worst drought in over four decades, with an unprecedented fourth consecutive failed rainy season recently concluded in May 2022. Around 7.1 million Somalis (almost 50 per cent of the entire population) face food insecurity at crisis levels or worse. Over 800 000 Somalis have been displaced due to extreme drought, most of them women and children.
With a new parliament elected and new government to be formed, opportunities for addressing some of Iraq’s most pressing water issues emerge. Such actions could be linked to and complement efforts that address existing climate-related challenges. The outgoing government became quite engaged in this field over the last years, with the signing and ratification of the Paris agreement, re-establishment of the Ministry of Environment, and the drafting of a green paper on addressing environmental and climate problems.
“We need young people from Somalia sitting at the decision-making tables of negotiations”, says Hassan Yasin, the co-founder of the Somali Greenpeace Association (SOGPA). Established in 2019, his non-profit organisation promotes climate and environmental justice in Somalia, a country disproportionately hit by the disastrous consequences of a combination of climate change and conflict.
