Climate change and environmental degradation are already much stronger drivers of migration flows than many of us may be aware of. This study intends to contribute to a better understanding of the complex relationships between climate change, environmental degradation and migration, and provide insight into current research as well as political initiatives. It also intends to counter some widespread misperceptions.
Cities are on the sharp end of a range of risks from criminal violence, terrorism and war to demographic pressures, to climate and environmental change. Coastal megacities are especially at risk given the specific impacts of climate change they face, including accelerated global sea-level rise, increased storm frequency and severity, and destruction to critical infrastructure such as port facilities, rail and road linkages, and energy installations, all of which are amplified as urban populations become ever larger.
Climate change is projected to produce more intense and frequent extreme weather events, multiple weather disturbances, along with broader climatological effects, such as sea level rise. These are almost certain to have significant direct and indirect social, economic, political, and security implications during the next 20 years. These effects will be especially pronounced as populations continue to concentrate in climate-vulnerable locales such as coastal areas, water-stressed regions, and ever-growing cities.
This article finds evidence that “risk of armed-conflict outbreak is enhanced by climate related disaster occurrence in ethnically fractionalized countries”. The authors state that while each conflict is the result of a very context-specific mixture of factors, natural disasters triggered by anthropogenic climate change might act as a threat multiplier.
For the abstract and full article please see here.
This report issued by The World Bank looks at the impacts of climate change which will be channeled primarily through the water cycle, with consequences that could be large and uneven across the globe.
Given the transversal, and universal, nature of the climate challenge, what priorities should shape foreign policy action on climate issues in the decade ahead? What should be the focus of European climate diplomacy? The European Union Institute for Security Studies (EUISS), the l'Institute du développement durable et des relations internationales (IDDRI) and adelphi organized a meeting of senior experts and practitioners to review and build on the outcomes of COP21. The discussions revealed important ideas for using European foreign policy tools to address climate mitigation, adaptation, and finance, for responding to climate-related security and migration risks, and for improving EU climate diplomacy.
The conference Planetary Security: Peace and Cooperation in Times of Climate Change and Global Environmental Challenges was held at the Peace Palace in The Hague on 2-3 November 2015. Organised by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, it brought together practitioners and experts from the defense, aid, and foreign policy community to discuss the impact of climate change and other global environmental challenges on security.
The WorldRiskReport 2015 systematically assesses the vulnerability and exposure to natural hazards of 171 countries around the world. Published yearly by the Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft (Alliance Development Works) and the United Nations Univeristy, the 2015 report highlights in particular the linkages between food (in)security and disaster risk.