Blogs & Opinions

The Environmental Cost of the War on Tigray

May 7, 2021 | Teklehaymanot G. Weldemichel

It has been more than  six months since the Ethiopian regime of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, the 2019 Nobel Peace Laureate, declared a full-scale war…

Climate Justice and Gender Justice: An Essential Pairing to Get Resilience Right

May 5, 2021 | Molly Middlehurst and Tamar Eisen

Young women activists from around the world have been leaders in the movement to combat climate change — organizing protests, rallies, strikes, sit-ins and lawsuits…

Peace Is Possible in Afghanistan

May 5, 2021 | Mirwais Wakil and Anthony Pahnke

Few have hope for Afghanistan. Those in favour of the United States government’s decision to withdraw forces from Afghanistan see no pathway to victory by…

“Land Is Now the Biggest Gun”: Climate Change, Conflict, and the Telling Case of Karamoja, Uganda

May 3, 2021 | Daniel Abrahams

Whether and how climate change drives conflict has driven considerable debate over the past decade. Yet understandings of climate-conflict remain general, and in many respects,…

Examining the Interconnected Threats to a Biodiversity Hotspot in Columbia

May 3, 2021 | Daniel Henryk Rasolt

Sumapaz is the world's largest páramo — a type of high-altitude moorland ecosystem found in the South and Central American neotropics that functions as a…

In Colombia, Indigenous Lands Are Ground Zero for a Wind Energy Boom

May 3, 2021 | María Paula Rubiano

The northernmost tip of South America, home to the Indigenous Wayúu people, is the epicenter of Colombia’s nascent wind energy industry. But Wayúu leaders are…

Rights Watch: Turkey's Cutting off Euphrates Waters Is War Crime

May 1, 2021 | Olfa Haj Mansour

The Turkish occupation state wages a water war on the regions of north and east Syria, and resorts to locking up the Euphrates water, which…

Somalia: Somalia Is Facing Another Food Crisis: Here’s Why – and What Can Be Done to Stop the Cycle

Apr 29, 2021 | Conversation

Since the fall of Siad Barre’s regime in 1991, which led to a prolonged period of civil unrest, Somalia has been in a near-constant state…

World Water Day: Can Water Scarcity Bring Countries Together?

Apr 23, 2021 | Tara Kavaler

March 22 marks World Water Day, celebrating a precious resource in the Middle East North Africa region. In a locale seemingly prone to conflict, water can…

GERD: Renaissance Dam Should Cultivate Cooperation in the Region

Apr 23, 2021 | Ashok Swain

After being the Chairman of the African Union in February 2021, the President of Congo Félix Tshisekedi got engaged in the mediation of the long-running…

A Land Like No Other: Afghanistan’s Post-Conflict Ecotourism Potential

Apr 23, 2021 | Elizabeth B. Hessami

Stunning cobalt-blue lakes with natural travertine dams in Band-e-Amir, the pristine, soaring Pamir Mountains, through which some of the world’s last snow leopards prowl—far from…

Cobalt and the Congo: A Sustainable Green Energy Transition Cannot Be Built on Human Exploitation

Apr 23, 2021 | Prince De Makele Mounguembou

General Motors, one of the United State’s most important automakers, announced in January 2021 that it would phase out petroleum-powered cars and trucks and sell only zero-emission…

How Climate Insecurity Could Trigger More Conflict in Somalia

Apr 23, 2021 | Andrew E. Yaw Tchie

Climate change effects such as droughts, flash floods, erratic rainfall, disruption to the monsoon seasons, strong winds, cyclones, sandstorms, dust storms and increased temperature are…

How Climate Change Drives Humanitarian Crises

Apr 22, 2021

Climate change is set to unleash widespread and sustained damage across the world—even if we succeed in limiting global warming. This is not a problem for…

Climate Change Impacts Women's Lives Around the World

Apr 22, 2021 | Sammy Luffy and Samhita Rao

Climate change impacts everyone on the planet. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has placed additional stress on our communities and our economies, making both increasingly brittle with…

Our Turn: There Is No Gender Justice Without Climate Justice

Apr 22, 2021 | Anna Clews and Rob Werner

On Earth Day 2021, we’re paying special attention to the intersection of climate and gender justice. We believe that there is no gender justice without…

With a Feminist Foreign Policy, Biden Could Get Climate Change Right

Apr 21, 2021 | Bridget Burns and Mara Dolan

This week, representatives from 40 countries will join U.S. President Joe Biden to discuss raising ambitions around the world to address climate change. Biden’s own ambitions though…

Avoid a Major Blind Spot: Gender-Smart Investing is Risk Management

Apr 21, 2021 | Nikki Walker

If a company is not focused on gender diversity and its economic impact, does it really understand the needs of its customers? This question, asked by…

These Women Are Transforming What Climate Leadership Looks Like. Here's What They Learned From the Pandemic

Apr 20, 2021 | Naina Bajekal and Elijah Wolfson

The COVID-19 pandemic, like the climate crisis, is amplifying existing racial and gender injustices in our society. TIME editors Naina Bajekal and Elijah Wolfson moderated…

Leveraging the Environment and Natural Resources for Peacebuilding

Apr 19, 2021 | Anum Farhan

Environmental peacebuilding as a field recognises the influence of natural resources and the environment on peace and security, and studies the most effective means to…

Leveraging the Environment and Natural Resources for Peacebuilding

Apr 19, 2021 | Anum Farhan

Understanding the linkages between the environment, conflict and peacebuilding is key to building and sustaining peace in post-conflict societies. Natural resources such as water, land,…

There’s No Military Solution to Yemen’s SAFER Oil Tanker Crisis

Apr 17, 2021 | Doug Weir

There are growing calls for the UN Security Council to authorise a military-backed response to the crisis over the SAFER oil tanker off the coast…

From ENMOD to Geoengineering: The Environment as a Weapon of War

Apr 17, 2021 | Gabriela Kolpak

With climate change accelerating, there is increasing pressure to develop new technologies that could suck CO2 from the atmosphere or block the sun’s heat. Some…

The Arctic Is a Place of Unusual International Cooperation. Can That Last?

Apr 17, 2021 | Larry Luxner

For decades, Norway’s policy towards neighboring Russia has balanced “between deterrence and reassurance” and combined “firmness and predictability,” says Ine Eriksen Søreide, the country’s minister…

The US Military Is Poisoning Communities across the US with Toxic Chemicals

Apr 17, 2021 | David Bond

One of the most enduring, indestructible toxic chemicals known to man – Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF), which is a PFAS “forever chemical” – is…

How the Defense Department Can Move from Abstraction to Action on Climate Change

Apr 17, 2021 | Samuel Brannen, Sarah Ladislaw, and Lachlan Carey

One week after he was sworn in as president, Joe Biden directed his secretary of defense to make climate change a central priority. The president’s executive order…

What Oil, Satellite Technology and Iraq can Tell Us about Pollution

Apr 15, 2021 | Ollie Ballinger and Wim Zwijnenburg

Few countries have oil reserves as deep as Iraq. The extractive industries bring jobs and tax revenues to a nation that has been hobbled by…

The Intertwined Futures of Climate Action, Fragility and Peacebuilding

Apr 15, 2021 | Anthony Navone

Crises are often described narrowly; clearly differentiated by the aspect of society they impact, such as the economy or national security. But the COVID pandemic…

Celebrating Earth Day With a Gender Justice Lens

Apr 15, 2021 | Tanna Clews and Rob Werner

As we look towards Earth Day 2021, we’re paying special attention to the intersection of climate and gender justice. We believe that there is no…

Herder-Farmers Conflict: Embracing the Ganduje, Abounu Solution

Apr 4, 2021 | Oludayo Tade

Fielding questions from journalists in Katsina, recently, the Kano State governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, said his administration has been able to stem the tide of banditry…