Climate Change
Global Issues
Climate Observer

The NATO Parliamentary Assembly on Monday (Oct. 12) adopted a resolution on climate change and international security, urging members of the North Atlantic Alliance to reach an “ambitious” climate agreement in Paris this year and to “fully recognize climate change-related risks as significant threat multipliers in their foreign and security policies”.

The resolution 427 was adopted at the annual session of NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Stavanger, Norway, together with other 7 resolutions addressing NATO’s stance towards terrorism threats, the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the current crises in the Middle East and North Africa.

The assembly was created in 1955 to discuss and influence decisions on key issues affecting the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. Although non-binding on Alliance governments and NATO itself, the Assembly’s resolutions are influential in shaping policy.

NATO’s lawmakers call upon governments of the 28 Alliance members to improve strategic awareness of the security threats increasingly posed by climate change in the form of natural disasters; increased competition for natural resources such as food and water supplies; heightened migration pressures; and growing impacts on public health.

 

Please continue to read on Climate Observer.


Ryan McNamara, New Security Beat

Tensions in the South China Sea increased last April when a Chinese coast guard ship sank a Vietnamese fishing boat near the Paracel Islands—a fiercely disputed territory in the South China Sea. Disputes over island territories in the region have endured for decades, with China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei all making overlapping territorial claims. The region is rich in natural resources and biodiversity, holding vast fish stocks and an estimated 11 billion barrels of oil and 190 cubic feet of natural gas.

Early Warning & Risk Analysis
Asia
Dhanasree Jayaram, MAHE

Without a coordinated strategy to tackle flooding disasters beyond the traditional infrastructural measures and river water sharing agreements, South Asia’s woes will continue in the future.

Christian König and Adrian Foong, adelphi

As political and public narratives on COVID-19 shift towards the need to ‘build back better’, the pandemic continues to take a heavy toll for many. A new report by the Climate Security Expert Network (CSEN) shows how COVID-19 can exacerbate climate-related security risks.

Biodiversity & Livelihoods
South America
Andrés Bermúdez Liévano, China Dialogue

With Argentina's ‘yes’, the Escazú Agreement is one step away from coming into force. What’s its status in each country?