Systems linkages between climate change migration and security

The potential for climate change-related distress migration to create or exacerbate existing conditions of instability and conflict has been a concern for scholars over the past two decades (Barnett, 2003; Brown and McLeman, 2009; Dabelko, 2009). In the early 1990s, as violent conflicts emerged in a number of sub-Saharan African states, newly emerging evidence of anthropogenic climate change caused environmental security scholars to worry about its future effects on already conflict-prone areas (Homer-Dixon, 1991; Kaplan, 1994; Rønnfeldt, 1997). Subsequent research has looked at how climate change might threaten international and regional security by affecting precipitation patterns, water availability and food productivity (Hendrix and Glaser, 2007; Meier et al., 2007; Raleigh and Urdal, 2007; Swart, 1996). Lately, the retreat of Arctic sea ice has raised concerns of Arctic militarization, as Northern powers compete for access and control of shipping lanes and natural resources believed to exist under the seabed (Grajauskas, 2009).

Sustainable Development Goals:

Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions