Blogs & Opinions


Ukraine’s Energy Security Can’t Come at the Cost of the Environment

Nov 14, 2023 | Darya Tsymbalyuk

In my hometown of Mykolaiv this summer, I met environmental scholar Inna Tymchenko. She is leading a campaign to preserve parts of a nearby national park, Buzkyi Gard,…


Gender-Responsive Climate Finance: The Key to Just Climate Action and Tackling Inequalities

Nov 13, 2023 | Leia Achampong

Countries in the global south have historically contributed the least to causing climate change, yet their economies are disproportionately impacted by the consequences of climate…


Rising Tides, Rising Stakes: Climate Change, Conflict, and the Pursuit of Sustainable Peace

Nov 13, 2023 | Rameen Siddqui

Climate change not only has the capacity to exacerbate existing conflicts but also has the potential to disempower communities, pushing them further into the throes…


Climate Change Is a Growing Risk for Older Women

Nov 10, 2023 | Danielle Argoni

When forest fires roared through Carpinteria, Calif., in 2017, 88-year-old Nadine Demalleville had just five minutes to evacuate the mobile home where she lived alone…


Israel-Gaza War Is Just One Example of How Conflict Is the Biggest Driver of World Hunger

Nov 10, 2023 | David Dodwell

In 1798, Thomas Malthus published An Essay on the Principle of Population, warning that unchecked population growth put unsustainable pressure on food supplies, and that…


COP28: Why a Gender Power Divide Threatens Climate Progress

Nov 9, 2023 | Sarah Morley and Isabelle Zhu-Maguire

What does gender have to do with global climate change negotiations?

Climate change is not an inherently gender discriminatory phenomenon – but its social impacts are.…


Preserving the Planet in Times of Conflict

Nov 7, 2023 | Syed Aaliya

The International Day for Preventing Environment in Wars and Armed Conflicts, marked on November 6th annually, serves as a poignant reminder of the grievous toll…


Recognizing the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict

Nov 6, 2023 | Wilson Center

In 2001, the UN General Assembly declared November 6 the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. One of…


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,…