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Relief, Recovery, and Peace: Peter Schwartzstein on COP28’s New Theme
›In today’s “Relief, Recovery, and Peace” episode on New Security Broadcast, we’re featuring an interview recorded by the Wilson Center’s Middle East Program (MEP) with Peter Schwartzstein, a Wilson Center Global Fellow and environmental journalist. In a conversation with MEP director, Merissa Khurma, Schwartzstein discusses the impact of the war in Gaza on COP28 and environmental peacebuilding efforts more broadly in the region. He also talks about how to advance the new theme of peace in COP discussions and what his hopes are for a best-case scenario coming out of the upcoming summit.
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Ecological Threat Report 2023: Same Hotspots, More Risk
›Future projections of social disturbance due to climate change and ecological pressures provide little optimism for peace in conflict-affected areas over the coming decades. Yet, can we identify current hotspots and future areas of conflict risk? The fourth Ecological Threat Report (ETR), produced by the Institute for Economics & Peace, attempts to do so by taking on the monumental task of evaluating the relationship between ecological threats and peace.
The new report documents a world of growing ecological threats and declining social resilience in the states and territories most vulnerable to a changing climate. And by assessing ecological threats, societal resilience, and levels of peacefulness at the state, territorial, subnational, and city levels, the report also finds a strong correlation between ecological threats and levels of peacefulness.
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Relief, Recovery, and Peace: David Nicholson on COP28’s New Theme
›In a new mini-series previewing the upcoming UN Climate Summit (COP28)’s new focus on relief, recovery, & peace, ECSP Program Director Lauren Risi spoke with David Nicholson, Director of the Environment, Energy and Climate Change Technical Support Unit at Mercy Corps.
Nicholson described his role in ensuring that climate change is at the center of Mercy Corps’ wide-ranging and successful global humanitarian aid programs in 42 countries—and the importance of having local staff to make interventions a true partnership. He also talks about climate finance, and his hopes that COP28’s theme of “relief, recovery and peace” will advance the view that peacemaking is essential to adaptation efforts.
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Relief, Recovery, and Peace: Iris Ferguson on COP28’s New Theme
›In a new mini-series previewing the upcoming UN Climate Summit (COP28)’s new focus on relief, recovery, & peace, ECSP Program Director Lauren Risi spoke with Iris Ferguson, the US Department of Defense’s Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Arctic and Global Resilience.
Deputy Assistant Secretary Ferguson spoke about why climate security has become a crucial element in DOD planning, as well as why the department will have a highly visible presence at COP28. She also shared the story of her own path to leadership at the Pentagon – as well as why her position includes both global resilience and the Arctic.
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Recognizing the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict
›In 2001, the UN General Assembly declared November 6 the International Day for Preventing the Exploitation of the Environment in War and Armed Conflict. In the 22 years since, both the impact of the exploitation of the environment during war—and the centrality of natural resources in establishing peace—have gained greater global recognition.
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Introducing “The Arc”
›On today’s episode of New Security Broadcast, ECSP is launching a new series called The Arc, focused on the connections between climate change, equity, justice, and identity. We will cover a wide range of topics – from food and water systems to the energy transition, migration, and climate finance – and talk with practitioners, advocates, professors, and community leaders to discover where these topics intersect with issues related to climate impacts and justice.
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ECSP Weekly Watch | October 30—November 3
›A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security ProgramPanama Canal’s Water Woes Threaten International Trade Flow
The Panama Canal has operated as a gateway between the Atlantic to the Pacific for more than a century, relying on water to raise and lower the ships that help fuel international trade. But a recent drought has disrupted the normal functioning of the Canal’s locks, cutting into Panama’s revenue and also causing problems for global supply chains.
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ECSP Weekly Watch | October 16 – 20
›A window into what we are reading at the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security ProgramWater Security Concerns in Gaza
Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on October 7th led the Israeli government to cut off water supplies to the Gaza Strip with immediate effect. This has resulted in a clean water crisis that the UN warns is now a matter of life and death.
Showing posts from category water security.