Climate-Fragility Risk Brief: Jordan, Palestine and Israel
Publisher: Climate Security Expert Network
Author(s): Giulia Giordano and Lukas Rüttinger
Date: 2021
Topics: Basic Services, Climate Change, Conflict Causes, Governance, Livelihoods, Public Health, Renewable Resources
Countries: Israel, Jordan, Palestine
The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region is considered a climate-security hotspot due to its natural water scarcity, low levels of socio-ecological resilience, social tensions and political conflicts. This report focuses on the area known as the Levant, comprising Jordan, Israel, and Palestine, and identifies ways in which climate change will further undermine the already tenuous political, social and economic stability of the region.
The nations of the Levant have volatile relationships with one another and have periodically engaged in conflict over the past 100 years. While attention is often focused on traditional national security issues, climate change will make Israel, Jordan and Palestine less secure. Rising temperatures, decreasing rainfall, and a rise in extreme weather events can all increase tensions by decreasing living standards in countries whose governments have a low adaptive capacity. This contributes to dissatisfaction with authorities, potentially spurring future conflicts.