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Q&A: Dr. Ashok Swain on Misinformation, Changing Borders, and the Role of the UN in his New Book, Climate Security
›Dr. Ashok Swain is a professor of peace and conflict research at Uppsala University in Sweden and founding Editor-in-Chief of the journal, Environment and Security. An expert on environment, development, and security issues, Swain has long had an eye for recognizing emerging security challenges. In his new book, Climate Security, Swain explores climate change’s connection to some of the key issues driving today’s security discourse, including the role of misinformation in hindering climate action, climate’s role in the growing displacement crisis, and how climate-driven shifts in territory and resources are reshaping geopolitics. Swain gave us a sneak peak of the book’s key insights, including the potential for a new international governance framework to address climate-related security risks.
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Facing Up to Climate Risk: Arctic Sea Ice, Tipping Points, and Possible Interventions
›Global greenhouse gas emissions continue in stark contrast to the emissions reductions needed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Indeed, planetary warming has accelerated so much that many scientists warn that key components of the earth’s system are approaching “tipping points” that will trigger additional climate feedback loops that further fuel and exacerbate climate disruption if they are exceeded.
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ECSP Weekly Watch | February 3 – 7
›A window into what we’re reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
Indonesia Considers Paris Agreement Exit Following US Withdrawal (Mongabay)
The US withdrawal from the Paris Agreement has led other countries to reconsider their commitments to the international environmental treaty. In Indonesia, for instance, top officials have questioned whether developing countries should be expected to comply with the agreement as major polluters (including the US) opt out.
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ECSP Weekly Watch | January 27 – 31
›A window into what we’re reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
Declining Fish Stocks Threaten Lake Tanganyika Fishing Communities (Al Jazeera)
For the millions who live on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, fishing is a way of life that has sustained generations. However, recent declines in fish production in the world’s largest freshwater lake have devastated Tanzania’s fishermen and prompted questions of the sustainability of the decades-long practice.
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Could Japan and the US Support Latin America’s Critical Minerals Sector?
›Cobalt, lithium, and copper are the critical minerals necessary to produce rechargeable lithium-ion-based batteries, and they are central to the electric vehicle (EV) supply chains in the energy transition. The importance of these minerals—and China’s strategic control of them—now compels the United States and its allies to diversify their supply chains for this essential resource.
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ECSP Weekly Watch | January 20 — 24
›A window into what we’re reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
Placing Water at the Heart of Climate Action (Relief Web/Netherlands Red Cross)
It may be true that water is life. But equally true is that roughly 90% of natural disasters—and the havoc they wreak—are water-related. A recognition that these disasters are intensifying in a warming world has led the Netherlands Red Cross to create Water at the Heart of Climate Action (WHCA): a program to tackle the intertwined crises of water-related disasters and climate change.
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ECSP Weekly Watch | January 13 – 17
›A window into what we’re reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
The Success of Community-based Conservation in Africa (Yale 360)
Across Africa, herders once seen as threats to wildlife have now become vital conservationists. In a transformative shift from “fortress conservation” to community stewardship, they are protecting iconic species like elephants and lions as they coexist with their livestock.
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Classic Geopolitics and Today’s Nexus of Conflict and Climate
›In recent weeks, users of the social network Bluesky were able to watch a compelling video featuring Jessica Newberry Le Vey—a Climate Change and Health Policy Fellow at Imperial College’s Climate Cares Centre. The video begins with Le Vey’s direct-to-camera assertion that the climate crisis is a health crisis affecting people around the world. Then Le Vey’s image disappears—yet we hear her (or someone who sounds eerily like her) speak over a compendium of combat footage that includes video of ATACAM missiles being fired and larger strategic missiles on the move. Climate is important, declares the speaker, but there are more serious problems that threaten our security.
Showing posts from category environmental security.