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ECSP Weekly Watch | November 13 – 17
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A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
A Fifth National Climate Assessment
The US Global Change Research Program launched the fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA) on Monday, November 13. Published once every five years, the NCA is the United States’ leading report on climate change impacts, risks, and responses.
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Relief, Recovery, and Peace: David Nicholson on COP28’s New Theme
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In a new mini-series previewing the upcoming UN Climate Summit (COP28)’s new focus on relief, recovery, & peace, ECSP Program Director Lauren Risi spoke with David Nicholson, Director of the Environment, Energy and Climate Change Technical Support Unit at Mercy Corps.Nicholson described his role in ensuring that climate change is at the center of Mercy Corps’ wide-ranging and successful global humanitarian aid programs in 42 countries—and the importance of having local staff to make interventions a true partnership. He also talks about climate finance, and his hopes that COP28’s theme of “relief, recovery and peace” will advance the view that peacemaking is essential to adaptation efforts.
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Relief, Recovery, and Peace: Iris Ferguson on COP28’s New Theme
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In a new mini-series previewing the upcoming UN Climate Summit (COP28)’s new focus on relief, recovery, & peace, ECSP Program Director Lauren Risi spoke with Iris Ferguson, the US Department of Defense’s Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Arctic and Global Resilience.Deputy Assistant Secretary Ferguson spoke about why climate security has become a crucial element in DOD planning, as well as why the department will have a highly visible presence at COP28. She also shared the story of her own path to leadership at the Pentagon – as well as why her position includes both global resilience and the Arctic.
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China’s Belt and Road Initiative: Powering a Low or High Carbon Future?
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China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can significantly affect the country’s domestic and overseas energy transition and decarbonization agenda. Electricity projects in China’s BRI investments, contrary to popular impressions of being part of a monolithic “project of the century,” have divergent implications for the host country’s shift away from coal-based power plants.
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Shifting the Climate Security Narrative: How the Department of Defense Can Lead
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In 2021, US Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III referred to climate change as an “existential threat”—a term traditionally reserved for nuclear weapons. Yet two years and several strategic plans later, tangible progress to mitigate and prepare for this threat remains elusive, especially on the international scale where the greatest impacts could be realized.
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ECSP Weekly Watch | September 11 – 15
›A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
Treading Water: Why Were Libya’s Floods So Devastating?
This week’s devastating disasters in Morocco and Libya underscore the cascading effects of environmental shocks (and in the case of Libya, climate-related shocks), as well as the cross-sectoral response needed to comprehensively address the damage.
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ECSP Weekly Watch | September 4 – 8
›A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program
Peace and Prosperity in the Sahel: Climate Security is Key
Liptako-Gourma is a landlocked region located on the borders of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger. It possesses significant mineral, water, and biodiversity resources, and strategically positioned for both economic opportunities and cultural exchange.
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Ukraine’s Environment Is a Victim of Russian Geopolitics. (Again.)
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Senior Western officials have received “sobering” reports on the counteroffensive in Ukraine. As both sides continue to rain artillery shells and missiles across the country, Ukrainian forces have struggled to make progress on the front lines in both the south and the east.
Meanwhile, a different but related struggle is occurring across the country. Ukraine’s environment is being poisoned by the by-products of this war; polluting the land, water, and air, and exposing humans, plants, and animals to high levels of toxins.
Showing posts from category Infrastructure.
