From Afghanistan, Nepal, and Libya to the Arctic, the new issue of Environment and Security takes a fresh look at emerging issues at the intersection of environment and security. Ashok Swain, Editor in Chief of Environment and Security, spotlights some of the new research and insights in this Q&A with ECSP staff.
Q: The new issue of Environment and Security features an article on Arctic governance, including a close examination of the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code). How do the authors assess this regulatory instrument as it enters its 10th year since adoption?
The Gaza Strip has long been uniquely vulnerable to the climate crisis, with rapid temperature increase and decreasing rainfall plaguing this whole region. Even prior to the current conflict, NGOs in the region and the UN have warned that climate change would be devastating, particularly for food and water security in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Severe flooding is a major cause of human displacement. According to the latest annual report by the International Displacement Monitoring Centre, around 61 million people were forced to move within their country of residence during 2022 due to conflict or disasters. More than one quarter of these—19.2 million people—were displaced by floods.
As intensive coverage of the war in Gaza has waned, the severe water crisis there has only worsened. Constant bombardment is impacting water production and distribution networks, forcing children and families are using water from unsafe sources.
In the closing moments of COP28, the almost 200 countries in attendance settled on a deal for a roadmap that would include a reference to “phasing out fossil fuels.” This language was a step toward highlighting the inevitability of this transition in order to address climate change.
In today’s episode of New Security Broadcast, ECSP Director Lauren Risi hosts three contributing authors of the international chapter of the recently released fifth National Climate Assessment. Dr. Roger Pulwarty is a Senior Scientist with the Physical Sciences Laboratory at NOAA; Dr. Andrea Cameron is a permanent military professor teaching policy analysis at the US Naval War College; and Dr. Geoff Dabelko is a Professor and Associate Dean with the Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Affairs at Ohio University and a senior advisor to ECSP. In the conversation, the authors discuss the implications of climate change for national and international security, and they delve into the international chapter and its significance for policymakers in the US and abroad.
Governments, policymakers, advocates, and observers have entered another annual UN climate conference cycle. Known as a “COP” (or “conference of parties”), these annual government-level gatherings focus on climate action, including assessments of progress toward the Paris Agreement and the creation of even more ambitious plans.
The annual multilateral Conference of the Parties (COP) has become one of the most important meetings on the global agenda. So the fact that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will host COP28 starting this week in Dubai—on the coattails of another Arab country, Egypt, hosting COP27 in 2022—is a big deal. Bringing such important international meetings to the Global South is a step forward in decentering and reorienting global climate action.