Tag "Climate Change"
SIDS and the Climate Crisis
In 2023, the world’s hottest year on record, the latest global climate summit – COP28 – took place in the United Arab Emirates. Again, Small Island Developing States (SIDS) seemed to be omitted from crucial conversations surrounding global emissions. This article examines the previous Conference of Parties, COP27, which aimed to place SIDS in the spotlight. It evaluates the significance of the deal agreed by participating parties following the conclusion of COP27 in Egypt and assesses the implications for SIDS around the world. While historic breakthroughs were made, especially in terms of funding the repairs for damages caused by climate disasters, the agreement seems to do little to combat the root causes of climate change, which must be addressed in order to achieve long-term security for SIDS.
Climate Change, Hurricanes and US Security
The effects of climate change are being increasingly felt across the United States. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recently predicted a seventh consecutive ‘above average’ hurricane season for 2022. This comes after suggestions by scientists that previous above-average seasons had been exacerbated by anthropogenic (human-caused) climatic factors. In line with this evidence, US political actors frequently depict climate-exacerbated hurricanes as a threat to national security. However, this rhetoric is not culminating in a sufficient adaptive and mitigative policy response.
The Role of International Organizations in Climate Governance
International organizations like the United Nations (UN), the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the World Economic Forum (WEF) are in many ways the leaders of global climate mitigation efforts. With their professional knowledge, monitoring functions, and facilitating capabilities for collaboration, international organizations should receive as much data as possible regarding the international execution of climate policies from state actors. In turn, they should use the findings to bridge existing gaps between countries in order to instigate a more efficient and globally coordinated effort to mitigate climate change.
Is food insecurity a looming eventuality in China’s future?
China’s carbon emissions have soared following the reopening of the country after the Covid-19 pandemic. Without a serious reduction, it looks unlikely that China will be able to mitigate the disastrous repercussions these emissions will have on its agricultural industry and food security as a whole.
Can Climate Action Save Castillo’s Faltering Peruvian Presidency?
On 21 September, President Pedro Castillo announced that Peru would declare a climate emergency and fulfill its environmental commitments. Since then, Castillo has survived congressional efforts to impeach him but the implications of his diminished authority for delivering on climate change, are less clear.
European Union: Wildfires Ask Burning Questions on Disaster Prevention
As global warming accelerates climate change, Europe is experiencing more wildfires. Despite a downward trend in fires in Mediterranean Europe, record heat waves in the Summer of 2021 have caused the region to erupt in flames once more. Mediterranean economies are particularly vulnerable to wildfire damage and illustrate how the European Union should focus as much on fire prevention as on combatting blazes.
Is Climate Change Fuelling Al-Shabaab’s Resurgence in Somalia?
Somalia has long struggled with the dual challenges of armed conflict and climate change, as observers of the fragile state suggest that the two phenomena are inextricably interlinked. Somalia’s experience illustrates how these complex linkages are indirect and contextual as shifting migration patterns, internal displacement and increased resource pressures exacerbate communal tensions and place unprecedented strain upon traditional modes of conflict management. Al-Shabaab has proved adept at exploiting such natural resource pressures and interclan tensions to fuel their jihadist insurgency in a manner which ominously foreshadows the future climate wars of the twenty-first century.
Will the link between climate change and conflict be recognised?
Although scientists, politicians and academics differ as to whether climate change directly causes armed conflict, humanitarian organisations like the International Committee of the Red Cross and Red Crescent believe the role climate change plays in violent strife can no longer be ignored. Communities have been torn apart by ethnic tensions exacerbated by drought-induced resource scarcity, and if world leaders fail to address the devastating effects of climate change, peacekeeping efforts in unstable territories could suffer.
The role of cities in climate governance
Cohesive populations, proximity to their citizens, and data capabilities offer cities a pivotal role in climate action alongside national and international actors. If clear goals are set, local circumstances accounted for, and other governance partners effectively collaborated with, cities could lead in the fight against climate change.
Concern for the planet, or a statement that the US is back? Biden’s virtual summit puts the ball in Xi’s court, as the US reclaims a leading role on international climate action
President Biden has shown his intent to restate the US as global leaders on climate change as he hosted a virtual summit on 22-23 April, encouraging states to build on their climate pledges. It has been hailed as a major success, uniting leading countries in climate action. However, the summit has sparked debate regarding climate politics. As competition between the US and China reaches its zenith, climate change remains one of the few areas left for them to cooperate on. Whether climate action will lead to healthy competition or conflict will depend on a range of factors over the next decade.
