Paper series examines nexus of climate change and security ~Experts recommend coordinated approach to climate change, multilateral strategies~
A new series of papers released by the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) advances understanding of the linkages between climate change and national security, and sets out options for transatlantic policy responses.
The papers, commissioned by GMF’s Climate & Energy Program, address the intersection of climate and security from several different angles. Joshua W. Busby and colleagues at the University of Texas, analyze the particular vulnerabilities posed by climate change to North Africa, with a focus on the region’s significance to transatlantic partners. E3G’s Nick Mabey argues that the security community must be proactive in addressing climate change. Tobias Feakin and Duncan Depledge of RUSI write of how the transatlantic community can benefit from a coordinated approach to climate change. And Adelphi’s Dennis Taenzler and Alexander Carius frame future conflicts and opportunities arising from climate change, with an eye to developing multilateral adaptation strategies.
Below is a description of and link to each paper.
Mapping Climate Change and Security in North Africa , by Joshua W. Busby, Kaiba White, and Todd G. Smith, University of Texas at Austin
Although all countries are vulnerable to climate change impacts, a number of immediate concerns apply to North Africa, where the brittleness and weakness of regimes in the region and the wider continent, coupled with the low level of human and economic development, enhance its vulnerability to a variety of ills, including climate change, terrorism, armed conflict, and piracy. Using Geographic Information Systems and illustrative narratives, Josh Busby and his associates examine how climate change and physical sources of vulnerability to natural hazards might intersect with the region’s various demographic, social, and political sources of weakness, highlighting their findings’ significance for the transatlantic policy community. A brief synopsis of the paper can be found here
Facing the Climate Security Threat: Why the Security Community Needs a “Whole of Government” Response to Global Climate Change , by Nick Mabey, E3G
Although a growing number of countries recognize that the impacts of climate change pose veritable threats to national security, the security community to date has largely adopted a reactive position, opting to manage the consequences of climate change without compromising other security objectives. This mismatch must change. Security actors have a legitimate interest in seeking a more effective “whole-of-government” approach to the risk management of climate change, necessarily including climate change into national security processes, supported by regular assessment of the effectiveness of climate security action at national and international levels, and an explicit risk-management framework that expands responsibilities for climate change outcomes well beyond environment and energy ministries.
Climate Security: Impacts and Opportunities for Transatlantic Relations , by Tobias Feakin and Duncan Depledge, RUSI
The failure of the international community to strike a comprehensive deal to address climate change demands that the West prepares its own contingency plan for meeting its challenges. Early coordination between North America and Europe on the political and military front will not only enable a more flexible response to climate change in both sectors but also provide benefits to every member of the transatlantic community.
Climate security: Future landscapes of conflict and cooperation , by Dennis Taenzler and Alexander Carius, Adelphi
The transatlantic partners must consider how to respond to the risks of climate change in order to avoid increasing conflicts and tensions around the world. The appropriate response will not be limited to one country or to the military domain; rather, it must be both multilateral and multi-faceted, encompassing the full range of available policies including development cooperation, conflict prevention, and humanitarian assistance, as well as climate change adaptation and mitigation. The development of adaptation strategies, the efforts to establish a mechanism to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and the preparation of low carbon development plans offer promising potential: By designing these instruments in a conflict sensitive way, climate change concerns can be mainstreamed into development, foreign and security policies.