Blogs & Opinions

The Sahel: A Deadly New Era in the Decades-Long Conflict

Jan 17, 2024 | Héni Nsaibia

The central Sahel states of Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger — all of which are now ruled by military juntas — are engulfed in a…

The Dynamics of Violence in Pursuit of Land in the Pan Amazon

Jan 17, 2024 | Timothy J. Killeen

The adage ‘possession is nine-tenths of the law’ is not legally true, but the concept reigns supreme on frontier landscapes in the Pan Amazon. Land…

From Mines to Vines: The Allies’ Path to Restoring Ukraine’s War-Scarred Terrain

Jan 16, 2024 | Armenak Ohanesian

Ukraine's fertile soil, known as chernozem, has underpinned generations of farmers; vast farmlands have long been Ukrainians’ pride. This agricultural prowess has not only fed…

Unpacking the Impact of the Fifth National Climate Assessment

Jan 14, 2024 | Wilson Center

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…

Gender Equality in Climate Leadership Can’t Wait

Jan 12, 2024 | Karen Stefiszyn and Robyn Camp

A record number of participants, and yet only 15 of the 133 world leaders present were women. A historic commitment to transition away from fossil…

10 Women Leading in the Fight Against Climate Change

Jan 10, 2024 | Christiana Jansen

Although women roughly make up half of the global population and are more vulnerable to climate change due to cultural, social, and economic factors, many women are leading the…

The Climate Costs of War and Militaries Can No Longer Be Ignored

Jan 9, 2024 | Doug Weir

Two decades of international analysis and debate over the relationship between climate change and security has focused on how our rapidly destabilising climate could undermine…

Conflict Minerals Compliance – New Twists for 2024

Jan 8, 2024 | Michael R. Littenberg, Austin Bohn, and Katherine Donohue

The next filing under the U.S. Conflict Minerals Rule is due on May 31, 2024. That filing will be for the 2023 calendar year. In…

The MENA Region Is Headed for More Insecurity Due to Climate Change. Can This Be Mitigated?

Jan 8, 2024 | Kyungmee Kim and Tània Ferré Garcia

The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, home to widely diverse cultures and a population of  about 500 million, is highly exposed to the…

On the Climate Crisis, We Are All Suffering, But Women from the South Are Suffering More

Jan 4, 2024 | Laila Hanifah

In the post-Cold War era, as the risk of major armed conflicts and wars between states declined, other threats of a non-war nature began to…

The Security Problem with Climate Migration Isn’t the Migration

Jan 2, 2024 | Tom Ellison

Security actors should be careful how they characterize climate change and migration. Climate migration is poised to continue growing, at an increasingly rapid rate, just…

Nature-Based Recovery Needed for Ukraine’s Damaged Protected Areas

Dec 22, 2023 | Hannah L. Timmins

As winter closes in, Ukraine is facing demoralizing news. Western support for the war is faltering, Ukrainian troops in the east are being pushed onto…

“Always Money for War”, Reflecting on COP28

Dec 21, 2023 | Ellie Kinney and Linsey Cottrell

COP28 was a memorable COP for many reasons; a record-breaking 100,000 attendees, the first ever ‘peace day’, and the landmark establishment of a long awaited…

A New Tool to Assess Environmental Peacebuilding

Dec 19, 2023 | Eleanor Greenbaum

As climate-related disasters swell in scale and intensity, the countries and communities impacted by fragility or conflict are among the most vulnerable. The explicit focus…

Israel: Starvation Used as Weapon of War in Gaza

Dec 18, 2023 | Human Rights Watch

The Israeli government is using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare in the occupied Gaza Strip, which is a war crime, Human Rights…

Climate Change is Not Gender Neutral: The Need for a Just Transition

Dec 18, 2023 | Emily Williams

There has been strong debate around the success of COP28 and the lack of ambition in moving away from fossil fuels, but even in this…

COP28’s Opportunity to Empower Women-Led Climate Action

Dec 17, 2023 | Nicoline De Haan

Of all the announcements made at COP28, the start of Brazil’s presidency of the G20 may prove to be among the most significant in the…

Democracy and Climate Politics Are Set to Collide Next Year

Dec 17, 2023 | David Fickling

As the dust settles on the COP28 climate summit that concluded last week in Dubai, a sobering reality is looming. After the legalistic niceties of…

New Platform Seeks to Prevent Ocean Conflict in the Face of Climate Change

Dec 12, 2023 | Jacqui Vogel and Dr. Sarah Glaser

Oceans are under immense threat from climate change. Around the world, oceanographic changes like melting sea ice, warming waters, sea level rise and shifting fish…

Launching a New Academic Research Network on Conflict and the Environment

Dec 12, 2023 | Conflict and Environment Observatory

On 12th December, a new research community the ‘Conflict and Environment Academic Network (CEAN)’ was launched at the 2023 American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting. In…

The Environmental Costs of War

Dec 10, 2023 | Anna-Kynthia Bousdoukou

Human rights abuses and war crimes are outlined and addressed by law. However, when the environment is implicated, what laws apply?

According to the Ministry of Environmental…

Women, Peace and Security: Opportunities to Respond to Climate and Environment Risks

Dec 5, 2023 | Sian Wrigley

A comprehensive approach to addressing the human security risks posed by climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution is needed – one that supports consideration across…

Empowering Change: The Crucial Intersection Between Gender and Climate

Dec 4, 2023 | Laura Piovesan

In the face of two of today's most pressing challenges—climate change and escalating social inequalities— it is clear that we need to radically rethink our…

Women at the Crossroads of Climate Change: AIIB Lessons Learned in Gender-Responsive Finance

Dec 4, 2023 | Philip Martin, Seleha Lockwood, Irem Kizilca, and Jing-Yuan Deng

The unequal impact of climate change on women and the importance of gender-responsive climate finance is widely acknowledged. Considering the key role of women and…

We Can Tackle Conflicts and Climate Change Together - It's Not One or the Other

Dec 4, 2023 | Jorge Moreira da Silva

This experience is backed by research carried out by Unops and the Danish Institute for International Studies that showed sustainable, inclusive and resilient infrastructure plays…

What Is Possible for Peace and Conflict Sensitivity at COP28?

Dec 4, 2023 | Annika Erickson-Pearson and Munini Mutuku

The Peace@COP28 community identified two goals, in early 2023, to serve as our North Star as we approach COP28: to raise awareness and mainstream peace…

Getting Climate Funds to Conflict Zones – a Case for Working with Armed Groups and Local Communities

Dec 4, 2023 | Ashley Jackson

Conflict-affected countries receive significantly less climate adaptation funding. They get about one-third of the per capita climate financing compared to conflict-free countries. The Notre Dame Global Adaptation Initiative has…

Efforts to Slow Climate Change Could Inadvertently Create Humanitarian Crises

Dec 1, 2023 | James Huang and Marx Itabelo Lwabanya

Up to 30 percent of the DRC’s cobalt is extracted through “artisanal mining”—small scale operations that rely on child labor, unsafe working conditions and exposure to hazardous…

Climate Action Must Avoid Fueling Conflict

Nov 30, 2023 | Inge Brees and Harriet Mackaill-Hill

In conflict-affected areas, the impact of climate change is one of many governmental priorities, and treating the two separately obstructs innovative and collaborative approaches, which…

What to Expect on Militarism, Conflict and Climate at COP28

Nov 30, 2023 | Ellie Kinney

In June, the UAE announced that COP28 would host a special themed day on ‘Relief, Recovery, and Peace’ for the first time. The decision was…