The Ukraine war has added to the pressure to address the links between the environment, natural resource management and conflict. This SIPRI Research Policy Paper assesses the priorities of selected European Union (EU) member states regarding climate-related security risks, explores their strategies for pursuing these at EU level and identifies steps for further action. It finds that member states’ level of political commitment to tackling climate-related security risks at the EU level varies.
2022 has brought environmental disaster to Pakistan as the country experienced a record-breaking heatwave in May, contributing to the collapse of many agricultural sectors. Even more ominously, these unprecedented high temperatures led to record melting amongst many of the glaciers in the north of Pakistan, increasing the rate of glacial melt water flowing in the Pakistani river system.
Iraq finds itself amid a water crisis that far exceeds previous experiences with water scarcity and acute shortages. Declining quantity and quality of water, outdated and damaged infrastructure, and inefficient water use have uncovered deficiencies in existing water governance, severely affecting the country’s socio-economic, political, and security situation. In the last years, basic water supply services in the south repeatedly broke down during the summer months which contributed to widespread antigovernment protests, particularly in 2018 (BBC News, 2018).
I recently spoke with Dr. Josh Busby, Center for Climate and Security (CCS) nonresident senior research fellow and associate professor of Public Affairs at the University of Texas-Austin LBJ School of Public Affairs, about his recently-published book States and Nature: The Effects of Climate Change on Security. In the book, Dr.
In the last four months, vast regions of Iraq have been engulfed by several waves of dust and sandstorms. Although the phenomenon is not new to the country, its severity and frequency are unprecedented. Historically, the Middle East region has been battered by dust and sandstorms but recently their impact on people’s livelihoods, health and stability has exacerbated. Experts attribute the intensity to the impact of climate change on the region where low precipitation, high temperatures and desertification are on the rise.
Europe is now firmly in the grip of a climate change-fueled crisis, the repercussions of which go beyond simple economic damage and have started to tear at the seams of European security.
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.
