A window into what we’re reading at the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program

Rising Food Insecurity is Driving Instability (Foreign Affairs)

Since 2020, the number of people facing acute hunger and chronic food insecurity has increased 130% above existing levels. And supply is not the issue. At present, the world produces enough food to feed nearly 10 billion people, yet there are 720 million people who are food insecure and a further 319 million face acute hunger. Today’s hunger is driven instead by barriers to access.

This article was adapted from Stephanie Speck’s remarks at the 2025 Berlin Climate Security Conference.

When I arrived in Mogadishu in 2013 to set up and lead the Office of the President’s communication and media department, I had the privilege of being invited to breakfast with the President. As I made my way through the layers of security leading to the presidential residence, I noticed an older woman walking behind me—cradling a chicken under each arm. She followed closely, undeterred by the checkpoints that stopped others.

A massive flood in Somalia killed hundreds of people, and displaced tens of thousands more. Yet the survivors faced a vexing prospect when they tried to return home: Al-Shabab had moved in.  

Stephanie Speck, Head of Special Initiatives at the Green Climate Fund, observed at a recent Stimson Center event that Shabab’s new levies meant that residents could not to move back to farm their land.  

As COP30 in Belém nears, leaders are calling it the “implementation summit.” Trillions of dollars in climate funding are at stake in Brazil in mid-November. Every sector, from forests to AI, has dedicated Thematic Days. However, one critical issue is noticeably missing from the official agenda: peace.   

A window into what we’re reading at the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program 

Corruption Stymies Environmental Crime Fight in the Amazon (Mongabay) 

In the Andean Republics, rampant systemic judicial corruption has challenged the entire justice system, with judges implicated in both bribery and extortion. Because leadership from judges is essential for the success of reform efforts ranging from anti-corruption campaigns to environmental crime enforcement, the result has been damaging to the entire justice system in the region for more than a decade. 

The global energy transition is often framed as a balancing act between climate commitments on one hand, and sufficient energy and economic security on the other. That framing assumes the transition will mean less: less energy, less growth, and a steady decline in fossil fuel use. But this rhetoric is, as Ambassador Anthony Agotha put it at last month’s Berlin Climate Security Conference a “false choice.”

Women play vital roles as actors and innovators in food systems worldwide. In many societies, they are the primary food producers, accounting for between 60% and 80% of the national food stock. Women are also deeply engaged in other stages of the food value chain, from processing to consumption. Their multiple roles provide them with specific abilities that strengthen food systems during times of crisis.

A window into what we’re reading at the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program

Revisions to Indonesian Law Promote Unregulated Mining (The Diplomat)

Since gold was discovered in 2011 on Mount Botak in Indonesia, thousands of miners have flocked to the area without official permits. It is an influx which has transformed this northeastern region from an agricultural center into a hub of small-scale, unregulated mining. Uncontrolled use of mercury and cyanide has severely polluted local rivers, with mercury levels in the Waekase River reaching 0.05 mg/L—or 50 times the WHO’s safety threshold. Yet despite the government’s move to close the mine in 2015, illegal activity continues.  Ineffective law enforcement has caused ecosystem destruction, public health threats (including neurological disorders and kidney damage) and deadly conflicts between residents.