On the frontlines of climate violence

As a journalist on the climate security beat, Peter Schwartzstein has been chased by kidnappers, badly beaten, detained by police, and told, in no uncertain terms, that he was no longer welcome in certain countries. Yet these personal brushes with violence are simply a hint of the conflict simmering in our warming world.
 

A critical knowledge gap

Cities will play a key role in humanity’s future. More than half  of the world’s population (57 per cent) lived in urban areas in 2022 and the share is projected to reach almost 70 per cent by 2050. Cities already feature in the climate change debate for their carbon footprints and, in many cases, leadership and innovation in the green transition. But they are also uniquely vulnerable to climate change.

Last week, world leaders and defence professionals have met at the 75th NATO Summit in Washington D.C., where they discussed issues such as the war in Ukraine, the Eastern flank, deterrence and innovation. Here is an overview of all the news, events and publications related to climate security that were linked to the Summit.

Sustainable security: Reducing Emissions in Military Supply Chains

On July 10, 2024, the International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS) has presented, on the side-lines of the 2024 NATO Summit in Washington, its annual "World Climate and Security Report".

Revisiting the Commission on Climate Change and Development in the polycrisis context

During the first decades of climate policy discourse and multilateral negotiations, most attention was given to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. Adaptation took a back seat and focused mostly on identifying the urgent and immediate needs of developing countries. There were limited efforts to integrate mitigation, adaptation, disaster risk reduction and development more generally.

In April 2024 the Climate Adapt website of the European Union published a publicly available tool to visualize the impacts of climate change in Europe. This tool is part of the EU efforts to share adaptation knowledge for a climate resilient continent, and shows the future impacts that different drivers will have depending on the development of the climate crisis.

Global militaries are some of the largest carbon polluters on the planet. Yet we still know very little about their overall contribution to climate change. Militaries generally do not report their emissions to international climate bodies. If they do, their reporting is often inadequate, leaving significant gaps in accounting. This collection of high-quality research seeks to fill the gap and open the ’black box’ on military emissions. Here are some of the messages conveyed by the paper on different clusters:

Russia’s war in Ukraine has caused extensive devastation, including the destruction or damage of homes, schools, hospitals, and other critical public facilities, leaving citizens without essential resources such as water, electricity, and healthcare. Beside causing damage to the natural environment of Ukraine, this war affects the global climate due to the release of significant amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases (GHG) into the atmosphere. With the war ongoing, GHG emissions have continued to grow, as is shown is the figure below.

The Nile Delta, the cradle of historical, agricultural, and cultural heritage for Egypt, is on the cusp of an ecological disaster largely driven by climate change. The densely populated Delta is home to half of Egypt’s population, close to 50 million people. The demographic densification of the region underpins not only the socioeconomic fabric of Egypt but also previews the scale at which climate change could propagate human and economic devastation.

PSI is pleased to launch a new, updated map of climate security practices around the world. Over the past two decades, climate security research has significantly advanced in understanding and addressing the security risks posed by climate change. Although practical action remains partially limited, there is considerable potential for growth. Consequently, there is increasing interest from the development, diplomacy, and defence sectors to become more involved in this area.