Blogs & Opinions


The Disproportionate Impact of Climate Change on Women: A Closer Look Ahead of COP28

Oct 28, 2023 | Poonam Muttreja

The upcoming 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, scheduled to convene in Dubai,…


Water Wars: Two Collisions Near Second Thomas Shoal as Territorial Dispute Escalates

Oct 27, 2023 | Teresa Chen and Alana Nance

Late last month, China’s Coast Guard installed a floating barrier to disrupt navigation near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (China: Huangyan Dao; Philippines: Panatag Shoal). Although the 2016 South…


Integrating Gender Perspectives to Prevent or Reduce Climate Crisis Impacts

Oct 26, 2023 | Welthungerhilfe

We cannot overcome the multiple crises facing our world, including the climate crisis, the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing food and…


We Have Entered the Age of ‘Climate War’. Crimes against the Environment Must Be Prosecuted

Oct 26, 2023 | Richard J. Rogers and Moneim Adam

For decades, the prospect of violent human conflict fuelled by the environmental stresses of climate change has been predicted by human rights experts. Extreme weather and…


Q&A: Ritwika Mitra’s Reporting on Gender Shows Climate Change’s Fingerprints

Oct 24, 2023 | Covering Climate Now

For the past couple of years, freelance journalist Ritwika Mitra has focused much of her work on communities at the “front lines” of the climate…


The State of Play for Critical Mineral Policies: A Berlin Climate Security Conference Roundtable

Oct 23, 2023 | Claire Doyle

The global transition to low-carbon energy is spurring new momentum to produce and secure the mineral inputs necessary for renewable technologies. Yet meeting demand may…


Israel-Palestine Conflict: How Sharing the Waters of the Jordan River Could Be a Pathway to Peace

Oct 23, 2023 | Zafar Adeel

When the Israeli government cut off supplies of water to the Gaza Strip following Hamas’s brutal attack, it put the role of water within human…


How Women’s Environmental Action Across the Global South Can Create a Better Planet

Oct 20, 2023 | Andi M. Pratiwi

Climate change has different impacts on men and women, especially in the Global South.

Patriarchal culture is the cause behind this. We often do not involve women in responding to…


Armed Groups as Forest Protectors in Colombia: A Risky Dynamic

Oct 16, 2023 | Joshua Collins

On May 15, 2022, a guerilla group in Colombia called Estado Mayor Central (EMC) issued a surprising communique from the large swaths of Amazonian regions…


A Reminder from Israel and Gaza on the Importance and Limitations of Environmental Peacebuilding

Oct 13, 2023 | Peter Schwartzstein

For those of us not party to the conflict but engaged in the regional environmental peacebuilding space, all of this is a grim reminder of…


Training on Climate Security Is Crucial for the Future of Peace Operations

Oct 12, 2023 | Farah Hegazi

Demand from peace operations for training on climate-related security risks has grown steadily and quickly over the past few years. Missions are experiencing first-hand the…


New Journal | Q&A with Environment and Security’s Editorial Team

Oct 3, 2023 | Wilson Center

Environment and Security is a new journal published by the Environmental Peacebuilding Association and SAGE Publishing. The journal represents the evolution of a field of…


Mary Ellen Iskenderian: Why gender equality is the most urgent climate action of all

Oct 2, 2023 | Mary Ellen Iskenderian

As Ajay Banga settles into his new role as World Bank president, all eyes are on his efforts to adapt the bank’s mission to address…


AIIB must ensure its projects address the interaction of climate change and gender

Sep 29, 2023 | Randy Lee, Ma on Shan

Given that the annual meeting of the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) convened this week, it is timely to review its gender and climate track record.…


Mona's Journey Through Climate Change and Gender Equality in Jordan

Sep 28, 2023 | United Nations Covenant to Combat Desertification

I am Mona, a Jordanian residing in the Shouneh region of southern Jordan, near the Dead Sea. I am a young climate advocate specializing in…


This Summer Previewed the Security Threats of Climate Change: The US Needs to Do More

Sep 28, 2023 | Elsa Barron, Tom Ellison, Brigitte Hugh, Alexandra Naegele, and Christopher Schwalm

Extreme weather events during this past summer — the hottest ever recorded — have highlighted the immediate danger of climate change to not only individuals,…


Disasters in Armed Conflict Zones: Silver Linings or Total Devastation?

Sep 26, 2023 | Tobias Ide

When catastrophic floods struck civil war-ridden Libya in the late summer of 2023, the catastrophe caused over 10,000 deaths and wreaked immense destruction throughout the…


A New Agenda for Peace and the Climate Emergency

Sep 25, 2023 | Cedric de Coning, Gracsious Maviza, and Kheira Tarif

Perhaps more than any other world leader, United Nations (UN) Secretary-General António Guterres has consistently integrated climate change into his assessments and response strategies. His…


G20 Called for 'Gender-Inclusive Climate Action'. Is it Another Empty Rhetoric in India's Context?

Sep 23, 2023 | Divya Pradeep and K.C. Adaina

A recent report by UN Women paints a worrisome global picture of the progress on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) pertaining to gender equality. Among several concerns raised,…


Afghanistan: The Benefits of Afghanistan’s Mineral Riches May Not Be So Forthcoming

Sep 23, 2023 | Nadia Ahmad and Luke Danielson

In late August, the Taliban interim government signed several contracts worth $6.5bn with foreign and national investors to develop some of Afghanistan’s mineral wealth. As…


Cities Are on the Frontline of Climate Change

Sep 20, 2023 | United Nations

Due to their dense concentrations of people and infrastructure, cities are on the frontline and highly susceptible to escalating damages from climate change. While cities…


Commentary: Who Cares about the Environment in War?

Sep 20, 2023 | Conflict and Environment Observatory

CEOBS and the PAX Environment, Peace, and Security Project jointly received 2023’s Al-Moumin Award from the Environmental Peacebuilding Association for their “ongoing leadership in monitoring,…


Depleting Water Resources and Growing Risks of Water Wars

Sep 18, 2023 | Ahmad Ibrahim

Climate change, often regarded as byproduct of modern industrial society, has gradually transformed into a challenge with global ramification. The most concerning factor regarding climate…


Shifting the Climate Security Narrative: How the Department of Defense Can Lead

Sep 18, 2023 | Cara Condit

In 2021, US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III referred to climate change as an “existential threat”—a term traditionally reserved for nuclear weapons. Yet two…


Shore up: Is climate crisis gender-neutral?

Sep 16, 2023 | Deccan Herald and Mallavica P Pillay

Bharathi, a 61-year-old woman, sustains herself by selling fish. She commences her day by waking up early, preparing food for her ill daughter, and diligently…


Women's livelihoods in vulnerable coastlines

Sep 15, 2023

A social and environmental anthropologist, Dr. Megnaa Mehtta, is interested in exploring the values, mythologies and ideas of well-being in global conservation and political ecology.…


Carbon Colonialism Has No Place in Liberia’s Forests

Sep 15, 2023 | Silas Kpanan’Ayoung Siakor

The fate of Liberia and its forests are entwined. Yet a new climate change deal, set to be announced at the UN climate change talks…


Why climate financing in Africa should focus on women

Sep 14, 2023 | The Nation

The climate crisis has taken its toll especially on women and girls in the Horn of Africa. Many smallholder farmers are women and girls who's…


Why Gender-Transformative Climate Literacy is Critical for Bhutan

Sep 13, 2023 | Thinley Choden

Globally, around 1 billion children (nearly half of the world’s children) live in countries with extremely high risk of climate change disasters, with girls being more vulnerable to…


Reflections from the Africa Climate Summit: A Missed Opportunity for Fragile States?

Sep 13, 2023 | Linda Wamune

Curtains have now drawn on the inaugural Africa Climate Summit, which sought to highlight Africa’s roadmap and role towards a sustainable energy transition through low…