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

AI Energy Demand Outpaces Its Climate Solutions (Eco-Business)

A new International Energy Agency report finds that AI’s significant promise in improving energy efficiency and grid reliability may not match the energy sector’s inability to keep pace with the explosive growth of AI’s physical infrastructure.

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

Green Corridor Addresses Conflict Economies in Virunga National Park (Mongabay)

In the Eastern Congo, Virunga National Park faces an intertwined crisis of conflict and environmental destruction rooted in economic desperation. Communities residing within the park rely on charcoal production and forest clearing for survival. Simultaneously, armed militias exploit these same resources to finance ongoing violence. In response, Virunga administrators have developed an integrated model using renewable energy as the foundation for an alternative economy.

In the summer of 2025, Tehran almost reached “Day Zero” – a designation for the moment when the city’s municipal water supply was no longer able to meet basic demand through normal distribution systems. Indeed, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has repeatedly warned that the capital may need to be relocated due to the worsening water crisis.

Last fall, I travelled back to my hometown in rural Wen’an County, Hebei Province, and was surprised to find my aunt Lu had installed 12 solar panels on the roof of her house. Because I am a low-carbon policy wonk at a Beijing consultancy, I peppered her with energy questions as we admired the rooftop panels. “So, where does the electricity go? To your own appliances, an aggregator, or the grid company? Are you paid for renting out the roof or for selling the electricity?”

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

Rapid Central Asia Glacial Melt Threatens Water Security (The Diplomat) 

A recent study projects that the Tian Shan mountains, the primary freshwater source for millions across Central Asia and China’s Xinjiang region, will lose approximately one-third of their glacier area before 2040. Already, the region has seen a 27% drop in glacial mass and an 18% drop in areas over the last 50 years. The Tian Shan’s smaller glaciers respond more rapidly to warming temperatures, as rising temperatures reduce the snowfall that historically replenishes glacial mass. These glacial and meteorological conditions create a compounding effect that makes the Tian Shan more vulnerable than the larger, slower-responding glaciers of the Karakoram, Pamir, and Himalaya ranges. 

The article was adapted from “Local Resilience Can Mitigate Climate Conflicts in the Pacific,” published by Global Outlook.

Pacific Island countries sit at the frontline of climate change. Many consist of small, low-lying islands, with long coastlines and vast ocean spaces between them. Livelihoods often depend on agriculture and fishing, and importing water or food is often infeasible or expensive. This makes those large ocean nations highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, such as storms, droughts, and rising sea levels.

Multilateralism is under threat, as many global powers increasingly choose to center their security priorities around defense and economic competition over international cooperation. This shift toward short-term national interests risks undermining progress on joint challenges, including climate change, peace and justice. What will be lost if the climate security agenda becomes a battlefield of competing interests? How can peacebuilding and development actors respond?

Journeying from November 2025’s International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP) in Bogotá to the UN climate negotiations in Belém the following month revealed a fundamental tension. Evidence increasingly shows that climate justice requires reproductive justice, yet translating that recognition into policy commitments continues to raise political apprehensions among stakeholders.