Blogs & Opinions
Relief, Recovery, and Peace: Peter Schwartzstein on COP28’s New Theme
Nov 21, 2023
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Wilson Center
In a conversation with MEP director, Merissa Khurma, Schwartzstein discusses the impact of the war in Gaza on COP28 and environmental peacebuilding efforts more broadly…
Building Peace amidst Climate Challenges: Insights from Conciliation Resources
Nov 19, 2023
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Mercy Masta
This first paper, titled A Changing Climate For Peace: Navigating Conflict in the Climate Crisis explores the intricate relationship between climate change, conflict, and peacebuilding. Drawing from…
Sudanese Warring Parties Trade Blame for Damaged Dam South of Khartoum
Nov 18, 2023
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Reuters
The Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces blamed each other on Saturday for a strike that damaged a bridge over the Jebel Awlia…
War in the Breadbasket: Landmines and Food Security in Ukraine
Nov 16, 2023
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Marie Riquier and Henrique Garbino
Global food insecurity has surged in recent years, affecting about 258 million people in 58 countries or territories in 2022. Violent conflict is one of the leading drivers, alongside economic…
DRC Can Overcome Fragility to become Africa’s Leading Climate Solutions Country
Nov 16, 2023
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Ana Bucher, Sandra El Saghir, and Ruzandra Burdescu
The Democratic Republic of Congo is a true climate “solutions” country with its enormous reserves of green minerals, pristine forests, and a large hydro power…
Ukraine’s Energy Security Can’t Come at the Cost of the Environment
Nov 14, 2023
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Darya Tsymbalyuk
In my hometown of Mykolaiv this summer, I met environmental scholar Inna Tymchenko. She is leading a campaign to preserve parts of a nearby national park, Buzkyi Gard,…
Gender-Responsive Climate Finance: The Key to Just Climate Action and Tackling Inequalities
Nov 13, 2023
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Leia Achampong
Countries in the global south have historically contributed the least to causing climate change, yet their economies are disproportionately impacted by the consequences of climate…
Rising Tides, Rising Stakes: Climate Change, Conflict, and the Pursuit of Sustainable Peace
Nov 13, 2023
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Rameen Siddqui
Climate change not only has the capacity to exacerbate existing conflicts but also has the potential to disempower communities, pushing them further into the throes…
Climate Change Is a Growing Risk for Older Women
Nov 10, 2023
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Danielle Argoni
When forest fires roared through Carpinteria, Calif., in 2017, 88-year-old Nadine Demalleville had just five minutes to evacuate the mobile home where she lived alone…
Israel-Gaza War Is Just One Example of How Conflict Is the Biggest Driver of World Hunger
Nov 10, 2023
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David Dodwell
In 1798, Thomas Malthus published An Essay on the Principle of Population, warning that unchecked population growth put unsustainable pressure on food supplies, and that…
COP28: Why a Gender Power Divide Threatens Climate Progress
Nov 9, 2023
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Sarah Morley and Isabelle Zhu-Maguire
What does gender have to do with global climate change negotiations?
Climate change is not an inherently gender discriminatory phenomenon – but its social impacts are.…
Preserving the Planet in Times of Conflict
Nov 7, 2023
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Syed Aaliya
The International Day for Preventing Environment in Wars and Armed Conflicts, marked on November 6th annually, serves as a poignant reminder of the grievous toll…
Recognizing the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
Nov 6, 2023
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Wilson Center
In 2001, the UN General Assembly declared November 6 the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. One of…
The Disproportionate Impact of Climate Change on Women: A Closer Look Ahead of COP28
Oct 28, 2023
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Poonam Muttreja
The upcoming 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, scheduled to convene in Dubai,…
Water Wars: Two Collisions Near Second Thomas Shoal as Territorial Dispute Escalates
Oct 27, 2023
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Teresa Chen and Alana Nance
Late last month, China’s Coast Guard installed a floating barrier to disrupt navigation near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (China: Huangyan Dao; Philippines: Panatag Shoal). Although the 2016 South…
Integrating Gender Perspectives to Prevent or Reduce Climate Crisis Impacts
Oct 26, 2023
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Welthungerhilfe
We cannot overcome the multiple crises facing our world, including the climate crisis, the lingering impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the ongoing food and…
We Have Entered the Age of ‘Climate War’. Crimes against the Environment Must Be Prosecuted
Oct 26, 2023
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Richard J. Rogers and Moneim Adam
For decades, the prospect of violent human conflict fuelled by the environmental stresses of climate change has been predicted by human rights experts. Extreme weather and…
Q&A: Ritwika Mitra’s Reporting on Gender Shows Climate Change’s Fingerprints
Oct 24, 2023
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Covering Climate Now
For the past couple of years, freelance journalist Ritwika Mitra has focused much of her work on communities at the “front lines” of the climate…
The State of Play for Critical Mineral Policies: A Berlin Climate Security Conference Roundtable
Oct 23, 2023
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Claire Doyle
The global transition to low-carbon energy is spurring new momentum to produce and secure the mineral inputs necessary for renewable technologies. Yet meeting demand may…
Israel-Palestine Conflict: How Sharing the Waters of the Jordan River Could Be a Pathway to Peace
Oct 23, 2023
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Zafar Adeel
When the Israeli government cut off supplies of water to the Gaza Strip following Hamas’s brutal attack, it put the role of water within human…
How Women’s Environmental Action Across the Global South Can Create a Better Planet
Oct 20, 2023
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Andi M. Pratiwi
Climate change has different impacts on men and women, especially in the Global South.
Patriarchal culture is the cause behind this. We often do not involve women in responding to…
Armed Groups as Forest Protectors in Colombia: A Risky Dynamic
Oct 16, 2023
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Joshua Collins
On May 15, 2022, a guerilla group in Colombia called Estado Mayor Central (EMC) issued a surprising communique from the large swaths of Amazonian regions…
A Reminder from Israel and Gaza on the Importance and Limitations of Environmental Peacebuilding
Oct 13, 2023
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Peter Schwartzstein
For those of us not party to the conflict but engaged in the regional environmental peacebuilding space, all of this is a grim reminder of…
Training on Climate Security Is Crucial for the Future of Peace Operations
Oct 12, 2023
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Farah Hegazi
Demand from peace operations for training on climate-related security risks has grown steadily and quickly over the past few years. Missions are experiencing first-hand the…
New Journal | Q&A with Environment and Security’s Editorial Team
Oct 3, 2023
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Wilson Center
Environment and Security is a new journal published by the Environmental Peacebuilding Association and SAGE Publishing. The journal represents the evolution of a field of…
Mary Ellen Iskenderian: Why gender equality is the most urgent climate action of all
Oct 2, 2023
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Mary Ellen Iskenderian
As Ajay Banga settles into his new role as World Bank president, all eyes are on his efforts to adapt the bank’s mission to address…
AIIB must ensure its projects address the interaction of climate change and gender
Sep 29, 2023
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Randy Lee, Ma on Shan
Given that the annual meeting of the Beijing-based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) convened this week, it is timely to review its gender and climate track record.…
Mona's Journey Through Climate Change and Gender Equality in Jordan
Sep 28, 2023
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United Nations Covenant to Combat Desertification
I am Mona, a Jordanian residing in the Shouneh region of southern Jordan, near the Dead Sea. I am a young climate advocate specializing in…
This Summer Previewed the Security Threats of Climate Change: The US Needs to Do More
Sep 28, 2023
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Elsa Barron, Tom Ellison, Brigitte Hugh, Alexandra Naegele, and Christopher Schwalm
Extreme weather events during this past summer — the hottest ever recorded — have highlighted the immediate danger of climate change to not only individuals,…
Disasters in Armed Conflict Zones: Silver Linings or Total Devastation?
Sep 26, 2023
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Tobias Ide
When catastrophic floods struck civil war-ridden Libya in the late summer of 2023, the catastrophe caused over 10,000 deaths and wreaked immense destruction throughout the…