Blogs & Opinions

Climate Change Amplifies the Risks for Violent Conflicts in Africa

Jan 10, 2022 | Philip Osano

The potential for climate change to exacerbate violent conflict is manifest in Africa. Growing competition over natural resources will likely increase tensions on a continent…

No, There Will Not Be a War for Water

Jan 10, 2022 | Jeroen Warner and Sumit Vij

Some people falsely believe that the Afghanistan takeover by the Taliban during a drought increases the risk of violence over shared waters such as the…

Tackling Militarism’s Contribution to the Climate Emergency

Jan 5, 2022 | Doug Weir

The past year saw the dial finally shift on reducing the carbon bootprint of the military. Since the topic was excluded from international climate processes by the…

Can We Predict Climate Change Impacts on Future Peace and Security?

Jan 5, 2022 | Halvard Buhaug and Nina von Uexkull

Analytical challenges notwithstanding, it is therefore not only a natural, but also a necessary step for conflict research to catch up with the rapid developments…

Merging the Environmental and Security Sectors in Climate Risk Responses

Jan 3, 2022 | Alexis Eberlein

Environmental security notions have evolved over the past 30 years. Once a sub-field of Security and Peace Studies focusing on how environmental issues correlate with…

Year in Review: The Top Climate & Security Stories of 2021

Dec 31, 2021 | Joon Hwang

2021 was a momentous year for climate security. From President Biden’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, to NATO’s Climate…

Militaries Are among the World’s Biggest Emitters. This General Wants Them to Go Green.

Dec 30, 2021 | Michael Birnbaum

Convinced that someone needed to shake awake Britain’s security establishment about the risks of climate change, Nugee asked to be tasked with one final mission…

Poverty, Displacement and 300 Storms: How 'Climate Violence' Threatens Iraq

Dec 29, 2021 | Safaa Khalaf

As water flows in rivers decline dramatically, Iraq is expected to become one of the world’s most water-stressed countries by 2040, with a forecasted rating of 4.6 out…

The Defense Department’s Role in the New Sustainability Executive Order

Dec 27, 2021 | Erin Sikorsky

On Dec. 8, President Biden announced a new executive order, Catalyzing Clean Energy Industries and Jobs Through Federal Sustainability, which directs the federal government to…

Towards Enforcement of the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation in Belgium

Dec 24, 2021 | Camille Leroy and Justine Tixhon

Although the EU Conflict Minerals Regulation no. 2017/821 of 17 May 20171 (the CMR) entered into force on 1 January 2021, there has been no…

Climate Change Is a Feminist Issue Not Just an Environmental One

Dec 23, 2021

In 2015, Botswana experienced its worst drought in history. Since then, families have had to move, taking their children out of schools; farmers have lost…

How Does Political Instability in the Mekong Affect Deforestation?

Dec 23, 2021 | Sheryl Lee Tian Tong

Myanmar’s rainforests, home to the endangered Malayan tapir (Tapirus indicus), critically endangered Sunda pangolin (Manis javanica) and endangered lar gibbon (Hylobates lar), are some of…

Cover Women from Climate Change to Tame Gender Wars

Dec 21, 2021

As the year winds down, it is a good time to reflect on how the effects of climate change have impacted the lives and livelihoods…

After UNSC Disappointment, African Union Picks up the Climate-Security Baton

Dec 21, 2021 | Janani Vivekananda and Claudia Zwar

Many were disappointed last week when Russia vetoed an historic United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution that would have formally recognised climate change as a…

Mine Action in Action: Influencing Law and Policy on Toxic Remnants of War

Dec 21, 2021 | Bonnie Docherty

Mine action, which aims to reduce the effects of landmines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), provides a valuable model for assisting victims of and…

Gender and Climate Change

Dec 20, 2021 | Bita Rais

Sustainable Development Goal 5 is a major driver in gender equality. Since its introduction there has been a significant focus on gender-related aspects within the context…

Why Indigenous Land Rights Matter in Myanmar

Dec 19, 2021 | Esther Wah

After the National League for Democracy (NLD) assumed power in 2016, it soon became apparent that its leaders had the same mindset as their predecessors…

Conserving Biodiversity and Building Peace in Colombia: Solving Socio-Environmental Conflicts in Protected Areas through Peaceful Means Enhances Biodiversity Conservation and Peacebuilding

Dec 18, 2021 | Héctor Morales Muñoz and Julia Gorricho

Recent studies have found that protected areas can support peaceful and inclusive societies by helping to maintain environmental stability, thus providing a framework for good…

Food and Water Security Solutions: Reflections on Mitigating Climate-induced Population Displacement in Africa

Dec 16, 2021 | Christopher Graham

Worse, the Word Bank reports that climate change can potentially wipe out decades of social and economic progress in the developing world by displacing millions of people,…

Climate Change and Ecological Security Must Be at the Center of Our National Defense Strategy

Dec 15, 2021 | Holly Kaufman, Sherri Goodman, and John Conger

At a United Nations Security Council meeting in September 2021, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken asserted, “Look at almost every place where you see…

Environmental Governance in Frozen Conflicts

Dec 15, 2021 | Clayton Payne

When wars end without an internationally recognised agreement to resolve them, conflicts can become frozen. In this post, Clayton Payne examines how the frozen conflicts affecting…

Iraq’s Waning Water Resources in 2021

Dec 15, 2021 | Wim Zwijnenburg

The summer of 2021 witnessed how water security is at the core of the debate on the climate crisis in Iraq. Current estimates by the…

The Changing Face of the Global Humanitarian Crisis: Gender, Climate Change, and Humanitarian Interventions

Dec 13, 2021 | Shruti Samala

“In a changing world with galloping, growing needs, we can’t keep making the same efforts, issuing the same pleas, and just write bigger and bigger…

Russia’s ‘Nyet’ Does Not Mean Climate Security Is off the Security Council Agenda

Dec 13, 2021 | Florian Krampe and Cedric de Coning

On Monday, 13 December, Russia used its veto in the United Nations Security Council to block a thematic resolution on climate change and security put…

Climate Change and Gender Equality

Dec 10, 2021

Takalani Netshitenzhe, External Affairs Director for Vodacom South Africa says,“This year’s 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence was shortly after the United Nations Climate…

UNDP Empowers Women, Promotes Gender Equality Through Energy Management System Training

Dec 8, 2021

In an effort to boost gender equality and female participation in the energy management sector, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) held the Srikandi Energy…

Mining Sector Has an Obligation to Fight Gender-Based Violence

Dec 8, 2021 | Nolitha Fakude

The Minerals Council SA and our member companies are well aware that we operate in a context and climate where sexual harassment and gender-based violence…

Climate Threats Are Multiplying in the Horn of Africa

Dec 8, 2021 | Robert Muggah

The four countries on the peninsula—Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia—are warming more quickly than the global average, with dangerous implications for unrest and conflict within…

Colombian Farmers Take on David vs. Goliath Fight against 'Exploitative' Gold Mining

Dec 8, 2021 | Louise Eldridge

Almost five years ago, small-scale farmers in Colombia won a remarkable victory in the fight to protect their land and territories. They voted en masse…

How Does Fighting Climate Change Help Protect Sexual and Reproductive Health?

Dec 7, 2021 | Leah Rodriguez

Climate change doesn’t just damage the world’s natural resources and wildlife — it also has lasting impacts on the health of human beings, disproportionately affecting women and girls. 

Ahead…