Blogs & Opinions

From Commodities to Conflict: Fueling Sudan’s War Economy

Oct 9, 2026 | Alessandra Bajec

This paper examines Sudan’s war as a self-sustaining political economy embedded in regional and global supply chains. It argues that the conflict persists as armed…

Russia’s Plan to Target Ukraine’s Water Supply Would Set a Dangerous Precedent

Oct 8, 2026 | Brynn Tannehill

Russia is reportedly preparing to strike Ukraine’s water and electrical infrastructure this winter, as the war stalls, Russian casualties mount and more of its jet-powered…

Resilient Food Systems and the Nature-Climate-Conflict Nexus

Oct 8, 2026 | Lauren Herzer Risi and Carolyn Gruber

Food systems depend on healthy ecosystems as much as they depend on a stable climate and peace. Yet the distinction between an ecological signal and…

New Data Reveal Weakening Emissions Reporting and Rising Military Spending

Oct 7, 2026 | Grace Alexander

The case for mandatory military emissions reporting under the UNFCCC is growing stronger with every flood and heatwave.

Beyond a Legacy of War: Integrating Mine Action into Climate Security

Oct 6, 2026 | Hana Manjušak and Barbara Magalhães Teixeira

The past year has seen a weakening of the international norm against the use of anti-personnel landmines. While this would have clear humanitarian and security…

Ready for What? Rethinking Climate Finance Readiness in Fragile Countries

Oct 6, 2026 | Elena Kiryakova, Mauricio Vazquez, and Manisha Gulati

New ODI Global research asks why climate finance readiness programmes have so rarely translated into investment at scale at fragile and conflict-affected states – and…

South Sudan’s Oil Lifeline Runs through a War Zone. Kenya’s New Refinery Offers a Way out

Oct 3, 2026 | Denis Dumo

The world’s newest country lives or dies by a pipeline that runs through someone else’s war, and a $16 billion to $17 billion refinery on…

Could Environmental Cooperation Help Pave the Way for a More Stable Gaza?

Sep 29, 2026 | Jonah Naghi

EcoPeace’s proposed Peace Triangle seeks to connect Gaza’s rehabilitation with water, energy, economic, and security cooperation.

Dr. Santino Ayuel Longar Dau: The Lawyer and Scholar Helping Reform South Sudan’s Oil Industry

Sep 26, 2026 | Ajong Mbapndah L

From war and refugee life to Canadian universities, the legal profession, academia and the leadership of South Sudan’s petroleum sector, Dr. Santino Ayuel Longar Dau…

Creating Asean’s Climate Security Architecture

Sep 26, 2026 | Glenn S. Banaguas

As one of the world’s most ecologically vulnerable regions, Southeast Asia faces unprecedented exposure to anthropogenically-driven climate disruptions. These environmental stressors do not exist in…

Five Things Climate Actors Need to Know about Conflict at COP31

Sep 25, 2026 | Ecosystem for Peace

War, militarism, and geopolitical rivalry are shaping the climate agenda, from energy markets to multilateral trust. Here’s what to know walking into COP31, and what…

Climate Change Is Fuelling African Conflict – Governments Are Developing a Shared Response

Sep 22, 2026 | Katongo Seyuba and Gracsious Maviza

Many African countries face peace and security problems that go far beyond war. These include political instability, violent extremist groups, organised crime and armed militias.…

Conflict Coltan, AI Demand and the Risk of Runaway Harm

Sep 21, 2026 | Emily Iona Stewart and Ashley Thomson

Conflict coltan from the DRC is already finding its way into our electronic devices, and rising AI and data centre demand could accelerate harms and…

Afghanistan: When Pollution Becomes an Economy of Illness

Sep 20, 2026 | Kazim Homayoun

Suppose one day we are asked what the greatest hidden cost of poverty, war, weak governance, and “unregulated development” in Afghanistan is; the answer should…

Give Sustainable Recovery a Chance

Sep 18, 2026 | Anna Ackermann and Doug Weir

Where it exists, armed conflicts undermine environmental governance, and at a time where the environment is under intense pressure. The legacy of this can last…

Regenerative Adaptation: A Path for Future Environmental Peacebuilding?

Sep 18, 2026 | Richard Marcantonio

Violent conflicts are becoming more frequent and more intense in parallel with growing global environmental change, extreme weather events, and corresponding risks to human health…

Beyond Chaos: Launching the Environmental Peacebuilding Glossary in Bogotá

Sep 15, 2026 | Héctor Camilo Morales Muñoz

In Bogotá, the Spanish language prelaunch of Essential Concepts of Environmental Peacebuilding: An A–Z Guide brought the field into conversation with Colombia’s territorial realities, from…

The Iran War’s Climate, Environmental, and Human Security Fallout

Sep 14, 2026 | Alejandro Martin Rodriguez, Joy Arkeh, and Sarah Yerkes

In a region already much affected by climate impacts and conflict dynamics, the continuation of the Iran war will reinforce their relationship and, in turn,…

Afghanistan’s Curse Was Manufactured – and Now Haunts Its Makers

Sep 12, 2026 | Ikramul Haq

Afghanistan is not cursed because copper lies beneath Logar, lapis beneath Badakhshan or iron beneath Bamiyan. It has been cursed by political choices made in…

Who Really Controls Afghanistan’s Mineral Wealth

Sep 10, 2026 | Umar Khan

The Afghanistan’s mineral resources have traditionally been one of hidden wealth ready to be unlocked by peace, investment, and modern technology. This narrative is becoming…

Staying in Place: Building Cultural Security in a Changing Climate

Sep 9, 2026 | Claudia Fry and Selai Maramanisoso

As the Pacific prepares to host pre-COP31, the region has a unique opportunity to advance dialogue on peace and security through a Pacific-led climate-peace nexus.…

Are Rising Spending and Temperatures Causing More Fires on European Military Lands?

Sep 9, 2026 | Sara Niknam, Adam Krid, and Ritchie Davelaar

As European countries raise military spending and step up training, one environmental risk is becoming harder to ignore: fire. Live ammunition, explosives and pyrotechnics are…

Hunger Warfare and a Fertilizer Crisis Are Straining Global Food Supplies

Sep 8, 2026 | Michael Werz

Using food as a lever is a proven military method as old as siege warfare, now conducted at global range. Both Russia’s and Ukraine’s military…

Afghanistan: Internal Tug-of-War over Afghanistan’s Untapped Wealth

Sep 7, 2026 | Faisal Ahmad

Underneath the rugged mountains of Afghanistan lies extraordinary wealth. Geological surveys estimate that the country holds over $1 trillion in untapped mineral resources, which include…

The Strategic Execution Gap: Why America Can Find Critical Minerals - and Still Lose Them

Sep 6, 2026 | Rare Earth Exchanges

Critical minerals are turning foreign ministries into business-development organizations. Embassies, development banks, export-credit agencies, and political leaders will increasingly compete to secure mining concessions, infrastructure,…

Taliban Mining Economy, an Insurgent Way of Doing Business

Sep 3, 2026 | Shahzaib Khan

Afghanistan has long been described as a poor country sitting on extraordinary wealth. Under Taliban rule, that contradiction has acquired a harder political edge. A…

New Cluster Munition Action Plan Would Include More Environment and Climate

Sep 2, 2026 | Anna McKean and Jonathan Walsh

The process of environmental mainstreaming in mine action has been underway for several years. Anna McKean and Jonathan Walsh explain how a new action plan…

Badakhshan Gold and the Taliban’s Politics of Extraction

Sep 2, 2026 | Sahibzada Muhammad Usman

August protests in Arghanj Khwaj—after July and Nasi—saw local gold panners push contracted firms and machines off traditional sites; they say Taliban “regulation” (Hibatullah’s panning…

Indus Waters Treaty and the New Fault Line in South Asian Security

Sep 1, 2026 | Amina Jabbar

It is well known that water is the next potential source of conflict in the world where climate change, population increase and the shortage of…

Taliban’s Hydropolitics and the International Engagement Dilemma

Aug 31, 2026 | Mohd H. Faizee

Five years ago, the Taliban took power in Afghanistan, inheriting the country water infrastructure agenda but lacking a coherent policy and technical capacity. This left…