Available Downloads
15 Key Takeaways from a Decade of Climate Security Reporting
(English)
15 Key Takeaways from a Decade of Climate Security Reporting
Publisher: Environmental Change and Security Program, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
Author(s): Peter Schwartzstein
Date: 2025
Topics: Climate Change, Conflict Causes, Renewable Resources
For nearly two decades, the connections between climate change and security have been debated and discussed in a diverse array of fora—from universities, think tanks, and the Pentagon, to the National Intelligence Council, NATO, and United Nations. While consensus exists that climate impacts can exacerbate tensions and foster instability, the precise mechanisms linking climate change to insecurity—and appropriate responses—continue to be debated.
A significant limitation in climate security analysis has been the scarcity of firsthand research beyond desk studies and limited interviews. Conflict zones present formidable barriers to researchers, with access constraints and safety concerns impeding comprehensive fieldwork for both researchers and local participants.
Journalists, however, often venture where academics hesitate. ECSP Global Fellow Peter Schwartzstein has spent over a decade on the frontlines, documenting climate-security connections across dozens of countries and numerous conflict zones. His book, The Heat and the Fury: On the Frontlines of Climate Violence, draws on this extensive field reporting to reveal how climate change fuels violence worldwide in ways that remain largely underrecognized. These are the stories that are laying the groundwork for the headlines to come.
In this ECSP report, Schwartzstein distills 15 essential insights from his work for policymakers and practitioners seeking to understand the climate-violence relationship, identify emerging instability hotspots, and inform effective interventions and responses.