The Climate Change-Conflict Connection

Research on compound climate-fragility and conflict risks has developed rapidly over the past two decades, reflecting the growing urgency of the topic. Going beyond establishing a statistical, direct link, qualitative research is now demonstrating the complex relationship between climate change impacts and conflict through a variety of pathways. Evidence from development programming also points to the importance of identifying and focusing on how climate change impacts such as increasing temperatures, drought, sea level rise, and more frequent and more intense extreme weather events are creating more volatile food prices, increasing competition for natural resources and making livelihoods less secure. This can contribute to more conflict and fragility, in particular when interacting with other well-established conflict drivers such as inequality and marginalisation.

For further information, please visit the Climate Security Expert Network (CSEN) website.