Blogs & Opinions

The Environmental Legacy of Russian Invasion of Ukraine Will Take Years to Clean Up

Apr 25, 2022 | Karen Graham

Russia’s war in Ukraine is poisoning the soil, water, and the air, with environmental-health experts saying pollutants released by the continuing assault could take years…

Potential Of Water Wars And Conflicts – OpEd

Apr 22, 2022 | Patial RC

Water conflicts may soon become the main source of discord between nations replacing the ongoing boundary disputes and discords.  Likely conflicts of water leading to wars may…

Climate May Not Directly Drive Conflict but It’s Critical for Building Peace

Apr 21, 2022 | Grazia Pacillo, Ana Maria Loboguerrero, Elisabeth Gilmore, Peter Läderach, and Tanaya Dutta Gupta

Climate change isn’t a direct driver of conflict. Most scientists agree on this and it’s reflected in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II…

“Climate Greatest Threat to Australia’s Security,” Ex-Defence Chief Says

Apr 21, 2022 | Michael Mazengarb

National security experts have called on Australian voters to use the federal election to support candidates that back strong action on climate change, saying Australia…

New Pentagon Inspector General Report on Climate Resilience in the Arctic: Key Takeaways

Apr 21, 2022 | Erin Sikorsky

Last week, the Department of Defense (DoD) Inspector General (IG) released a new report evaluating the climate resilience of US military bases in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic…

Integrating Climate Change into the US Global Fragility Strategy: A New “Prologue”

Apr 19, 2022 | Francesco Femia, Caitlin Werrell

In early April, the Biden Administration released a “prologue” to the US Global Fragility Strategy, also known as the Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote…

Why Climate Action Holds the Key to German Security

Apr 16, 2022 | Sherri Goodman

The shocking force of Russia's invasion, financed by its grip on the world fossil fuel market, shows that Germany's national security depends on securing energy…

The New Taleban’s Opium Ban: The same political strategy 20 years on?

Apr 14, 2022 | Jelena Bjelica, Kate Clark

Afghanistan has already lost most of its other foreign income in the form of on and off-budget support, both civilian and military, since the Taleban…

Climate Policies Must Allow Women to Control their Bodies and their Fates

Apr 14, 2022 | Zainab Yunusa

Links between women’s sexual and reproductive health and the impacts of climate change are made clear in the recent Working Group II report from the UN Intergovernmental…

#BringBackOurGirls: Ecofeminism, Climate, and Conflict

Apr 14, 2022 | Adenike Oladosu

On the night of April 14, 2014, a group of militants attacked the Government Girls Secondary School in Chibok, Nigeria. They kidnapped 276 female students,…

Battles over UN Rulebook on War and Nature Show Might Still Trumps Right

Apr 12, 2022 | Tracy Keeling

War is always an environmental catastrophe, and one we can ill afford in our age of climate and ecological crises. In light of this, the UN’s International Law Commission (ILC) is…

What Next for Climate Security? Implications From IPCC Working Group II 6th Assessment Report

Apr 11, 2022 | Elisabeth Gilmore, Halvard Buhaug, and Helen Adams

The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report (AR6) from Working Group II (WG2): Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability presents the stark implications of climate change.…

10 Ways War Harms Wildlife

Apr 11, 2022 | John R. Platt

As war and conflicts rage on in Ukraine, Yemen, South Sudan, Libya and other places around the globe, it’s important to look at the long-term…

What Next for Climate Security? Implications From IPCC Working Group II 6th Assessment Report

Apr 11, 2022 | Elisabeth Gilmore, Halvard Buhaug, and Helen Adams

The recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report (AR6) from Working Group II (WG2): Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability presents the stark implications of climate change. Some…

Do Mention the War: Why Conservation NGOs Must Speak Out on Biodiversity and Conflicts

Apr 11, 2022 | Henrike Schulte to Bühne

After the Aichi targets, which aimed to slow global biodiversity loss by 2020, were missed, conservation organisations turned their attention to the post-2020 biodiversity framework, which is…

Weaponising Water — Ukraine's Dams Are Targets in Putin's War

Apr 8, 2022 | Nicholas Hildyard and Josh Klemm

In the early hours of 26 February 2022, Ukrainian air defences shot down a Russian missile reportedly heading for the Kyiv dam on the Dnieper…

Three Ways to Build Back Greener in Community Health

Apr 7, 2022 | Shirley Ko

Yet another IPCC report published this week reminds us that we are at a critical crossroads to slow the rate of global warming. As COVID-19 gradually shifts…

The Climate Solutions That Play Double-Duty

Apr 7, 2022 | Yusuf Jameel and Aiyana Bodi

Finance for climate action is growing—however, much of this money is being invested in wealthier nations, while the regions where funds are needed most are often…

The Lawfare Podcast: How Russia's War in Ukraine Affects Energy and Climate Security

Apr 6, 2022 | Jen Patja Howell

In the last few weeks, much has been said about how energy issues are playing into Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine. It's especially coming up…

Sharing Cross-Border Water Resources: Cooperation or Conflict?

Apr 5, 2022 | Ruby Russell

From the Euphrates to the Mekong, dams that ensure one country's water supply risk leaving others parched.According to the UN, close to 300 international water…

Converging Risks: Demographic Trends, Gender Inequity, and Security Challenges in the Sahel

Apr 4, 2022

Security conditions in the Sahel are rapidly deteriorating. Since 2016, the region has witnessed a 16-fold increase in terrorist attacks. In Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania,…

Stolen Real Estate — Like Blood Diamonds — Is Funding Deadly Conflicts

Apr 3, 2022 | Jon Unruh

The use of conflict resources to finance wars is expanding into new commodities — with much more severe consequences. An example is the successful trafficking…

Gaza Coming Water Crisis Worse Than Anything Yet?

Apr 2, 2022 | Ramzy Baroud

It is important to keep in mind that the water crisis in Gaza has been ongoing for years, and every aspect of this protracted crisis…

The Key to Climate Action and Sustainable Peace? Women’s Full and Equal Participation

Mar 31, 2022

Climate change is not gender neutral, and for activist Fatima Muriel, this fact is all too real for thousands of women in her home country, Colombia. 

In…

A Closer Look at the Intersection of Gender and Security

Mar 31, 2022 | Deseri Tsepetis

While there has been progress in advancing civil rights and visibility for women and transgender folks, there is a long way to go to build…

Defence Diplomacy as a Tool to Cope with the Climate Crisis

Mar 31, 2022 | S. Nanthini

The recently published Sixth Assessment Report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has highlighted significant increases in extreme weather events, which are likely to lead to…

Iraq’s Climate Change Response: The Private Sector and Civil Society

Mar 29, 2022 | Maha Yassin

In recent years, Iraq has been severely affected by climate change, with heat waves of above 50˚ C increasing in regularity. Climate change has had…

Gaza’s Forthcoming Crisis Might Be Worse Than Anything We Have Ever Seen

Mar 29, 2022 | Ramzy Baroud

According to Amnesty International, Palestinians in the occupied West Bank consume, on average, 73 liters of water a day, per person. Compare this to an…

How Water Crisis Impacts the Ukraine Conflict

Mar 29, 2022 | Ashok Swain

Though the water war catchphrase is often used in public discourse to hype up the issue of water scarcity, the correlation between water and war…

What Do We Know about Climate Change, Peace and Conflict?

Mar 29, 2022 | Tobias Ide

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the world-leading body assessing scientific evidence on climate change. Researchers criticised the previous 2007 and 2014 versions of the…