Blogs & Opinions

Leaving No One Behind at COP27

Oct 31, 2022 | Jenny Grönwall, Xanani Baloyi, and Georgette Mrakadeh-Keane

As COP27 fast approaches a slew of reports highlight how much work is yet to be done to meet the goal of reducing projected warming…

East Africa: Droughts Don't Need to Result in Famine - Ethiopia and Somalia Show What Makes the Difference

Oct 27, 2022 | Joshua Busby

The Horn of Africa is facing its worst drought in 40 years. Scientists suspect that a multi-year La Niña cycle has been amplified by climate change to prolong dry…

Will Africa's Metals Boom Suffer the Same Curse as Oil?

Oct 25, 2022 | Agence France-Presse

Mechanical diggers are hard at work in the bleak landscape of the Moanda open-cast mine in Gabon, using giant jaws to rip out manganese and…

Information Challenges for Humanitarian Response to Climate Shocks in Fragile Settings

Oct 21, 2022 | Anniek Barnhoorn and Karen Meijer

As climate change intensifies, humanitarian organizations and their field operations will need a better understanding of how it interacts with conflict and displacement dynamics, as…

Russian Attacks on Ukrainian Utility Infrastructure: Water and Power

Oct 20, 2022 | Brent Stricker

After withdrawing from much of the territory it occupied in Kharkov Oblast, the Russian military has turned to a new strategy of attacking civilian infrastructure, such…

Dangerous Forces: The Protection of Nuclear Power Plants in Armed Conflict

Oct 18, 2022 | Abby Zeith and Eirini Giorgou

As the international armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine drags on, the international community continues to sound the alarm about the significant risks of a…

Bring Women to the Centre of Peace-building

Oct 18, 2022 | Sima Bahous

The world today is facing a horrendous range of conflicts. We are seeing military coups, seizures of land by force, and explosion of rivalries into…

Using Gender Sensitive Data to Inform Climate Security Planning

Oct 18, 2022 | Steve Recca and Maryruth B. Priebe

There is a growing consensus at the national and grassroots levels that women must be engaged as leaders and essential contributors in responding to the…

Preventing Water Wars

Oct 16, 2022 | Asad Tahir Jappa

It is an undeniable truth that throughout human history on the planet earth, conflicts emanating from water scarcity have already been happening. It does not…

The World Cannot Fix the Global Food Crisis Without Rural Women

Oct 15, 2022 | Claudia Sadoff

A shocking jump in the number of women compared to men facing food insecurity lays bare a broadening gender gap, with women now shouldering a…

Cooperation Needed to Correct Course on Gender Equality: UN Report

Oct 14, 2022 | IISD

UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (DESA) issued a report, which presents evidence on gender equality across all 17 SDGs. Emphasizing…

Yemen’s Future Conflicts Will Be over Water

Oct 14, 2022 | Niku Jafarnia

In just two days this August, heavy floods caused extensive devastation across Yemen, killing at least 38 people and destroying the shelters of thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs)…

Transatlantic Subnational Climate Cooperation: Opportunities for Implementation

Oct 14, 2022 | Wilson Center

The subnational level has become increasingly important in keeping international climate diplomacy alive. Cities play an important role informing not only local, but also national…

Gender Inequality and the Connection to Climate Change

Oct 12, 2022 | Nelly Gachanja

Did you know gender inequality and climate change are interconnected? Africa is more vulnerable to climate change than any other region on the planet. Coincidentally,…

Unleashing the Power of Gender-Smart Climate Investing in Developed Markets

Oct 12, 2022 | Suzanne Biegel

With little capital flowing in established economies, and increasing urgency, the time to move money in this direction is now.When many investors — especially those…

Securitizing Climate Change: How to Not Think about the Climate Crisis

Oct 12, 2022 | Carol Cohn and Claire Duncanson

In the Global North, “climate security” has become a dominant frame for thinking—and not thinking—about the climate crisis. And it misdirects our attention because the…

Women Are on the Front Lines of Climate Change — So Let Them Steer The Response

Oct 11, 2022 | Cara Wilson

After years of working in the finance sector on both gender and sustainable finance initiatives, I am convinced that more women at the top would…

CFS 50: Statement from CSIPM on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment

Oct 11, 2022 | La Via Campesina

As a diverse collective, which is made of persons from the South and from the North, we, peasant women, Indigenous women, women from war-torn countries,…

Investing in Climate Adaptation and Resilience as a Bulwark against Conflict

Oct 10, 2022 | International Crisis Group

Climate change is increasing the risk of conflict across the Horn of Africa. People in all these countries would benefit from “climate adaptation” efforts, though the…

In Colombia, Implementing the Escazú Agreement Is a Matter of Life and Death

Oct 7, 2022 | Laura Furones

Colombia and other countries in Latin America are some of the world’s deadliest countries for environmental defenders, yet the region is also highly vulnerable and…

Women and Gender in Climate Diplomacy

Oct 5, 2022 | Amy M. Jaffe and Cali Nathanson

Prominent women leaders have played a critical role in the success of global climate negotiations and have contributed to a fuller understanding of the gendered…

Climate Change is a Threat Multiplier for Women and Girls: UN expert

Oct 5, 2022 | United Nations

NEW YORK (5 October 2022) – Climate change and environmental degradation are escalating the risk and prevalence of violence against women and girls across the…

Gender-Informed Policies Fundamental for Climate Change Adaptation

Oct 5, 2022 | Sarah McLaughlin

Scientists from the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) are working to understand the gender gap in climate change adaptation and the causes behind this…

Protecting Human Rights in DRC Cobalt Mines: A US Priority in a Green Transition

Oct 4, 2022 | Roger-Mark De Souza

Secretary of State Anthony J. Blinken recently reaffirmed the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—a nation located in Africa’s heart—as a “geostrategic player and critical partner”…

Gender Action Plan for Climate Change

Oct 2, 2022 | Hunain Mahmood

Climate Change Gender Action Plan argues for a greater role for women in the development of climate solutions.

In the wake of the recent floods, women…

Ghana: Climate Change Impact Hinges On Three Areas

Sep 30, 2022 | Benjamin Arcton-Tettey

The call to address the gender gap with regard to climate change and its impact on women, peace and security is hinged on three areas.The…

Liberia: What to Do about Land Disputes?

Sep 30, 2022 | David S. Menjor

The criminal conveyance of land, in the forms of double deals and fraudulent land deeds, continues unabated across Liberia, especially in Marshall City, Margibi County,…

Gender Inequality, Armed Conflict and Climate Change: Why Militaries Can and Should Map Compounded Risk

Sep 29, 2022 | Jody M. Prescott, Robin Lovell, Emma Miner, Emily Smith, Cyrus Oswald, and Cameron Chambers

In areas marked by gender inequality, women and girls are particularly at risk of the compounding effects of armed conflict and climate change. Militaries should…

Kenya: As Drought Deepens Land Conflicts, Peacebuilders Respond

Sep 24, 2022 | Jeremy Moore

Amid lengthening droughts in a changing climate, millions of herders in northern Kenya are watching their traditional grazing lands dry and harden. Communities’ new desperation from…

Climate and Environment Considerations for Weapon Bearers in Armed Conflict

Sep 22, 2022 | Sarah Gale

Why should parties to a conflict care about climate change and the environment? This is a question that is frequently raised when discussing the intersection…