Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges of the present and the future. Rising temperatures and sea levels, as well as extreme weather events are manifestations of climate change that also influence military capabilities. Increased attention for the climate change-security nexus is visible both at the national and the international level: nationally through the incorporation of climate change in security strategies and internationally through incorporation in important strategic documents such as the EU’s Strategic Compass and NATO’s Strategic Concept.

Between the 15th and 17th December, the Institute of Peace and Conflicts Studies and the Planetary Security Initiative of the Clingendael Institute convened a workshop focusing on the climate-security risks in the Bay of Bengal and how to address the growing insecurity at a local, national and regional level.

This October a coalition of EU countries reaffirmed their commitment to an ambitious climate policy that will feature at the heart of EU foreign and security policy, by forming a Group of Friends (GoF). The Gof is comprised of the follow members: Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden.

The IPCS taskforce (TF) on climate security in India was convened over 2021-22. It is part of a multi-year project on the security implications of climate change for South Asia, executed in partnership with the Clingendael Institute in the Netherlands. A track 1.5 initiative, the TF comprised Indian academics, climate experts, scholar-activists, technical experts, and security practitioners.

The EU and its member states have taken unprecedented steps to reduce their dependence on Russian energy resources. ECFR’s new EU Energy Deals Tracker documents Europeans’ agreements with new suppliers – and highlights four key lessons for policymakers.

2022 has seen nothing short of a transformation in how EU member states source their energy. Together with the European Commission, they embarked on an unprecedented effort to reduce their energy dependence on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

Environmental degradation and climate change, Russia's war against Ukraine and the COVID-19 pandemic all have the potential to trigger disasters in Europe. Wildfires in particular, are of massive concern, as they ravaged various European countries in an unprecedented manner during the summer of 2022.

Southern Africa is among the most vulnerable regions in the world to climate change. Climate-related impacts such as droughts, floods and tropical cyclones undermine development and reduce the availability of natural resources, affecting the majority of the region’s population.

Earlier this year, NATO announced it will set up a new NATO Climate Change and Security Centre of Excellence (CCASCOE), spearheaded by Global Affairs Canada (Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and the Department of National Defence (Canadian Ministry of Defence), to be based