A window into what we’re reading at the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program 

As COP30 Concludes, Experts Call for Reform (Reuters) 

Interviews with experts attending COP30 highlight a growing movement for reform to the UN climate negotiations. In particular, there is alignment on a key critique of the current COP structure which calls for a full consensus of nearly 200 countries to make decisions. Since this requirement historically has allowed more ambitious efforts to be blocked during negotiations, suggestions for reform have included the following: a shift to a majority-vote model, holding COP every other year, convening smaller action-focused gatherings, and downsizing COP to exclude big business contingents. 

Artificial Intelligence (AI) has the potential to reshape how data and knowledge are produced, shared, and used in transboundary water negotiations, but it also risks entrenching political imbalances, deepening mistrust, and displacing the need for genuine cooperation.

A window into what we’re reading at the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program

Rising Food Insecurity is Driving Instability (Foreign Affairs)

Since 2020, the number of people facing acute hunger and chronic food insecurity has increased 130% above existing levels. And supply is not the issue. At present, the world produces enough food to feed nearly 10 billion people, yet there are 720 million people who are food insecure and a further 319 million face acute hunger. Today’s hunger is driven instead by barriers to access.

As COP30 in Belém nears, leaders are calling it the “implementation summit.” Trillions of dollars in climate funding are at stake in Brazil in mid-November. Every sector, from forests to AI, has dedicated Thematic Days. However, one critical issue is noticeably missing from the official agenda: peace.   

A window into what we’re reading at the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program 

Nickel Mining Threat to New Raja Ampat UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (Mongabay) 

When Indonesia’s Raja Ampat archipelago received a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve designation on September 27, 2025, the new designation adding to the status it won as a Global Geopark in 2023. Yet this dual honor highlighting the archipelago’s exceptional biodiversity is now under threat from intense pressure from global demand for nickel for electric vehicle batteries that is challenging the reserve’s conservation goals.  

A window into what we’re reading at the Stimson Center’s Environmental Security Program

Chinese Company Accused of Covering Up Extent of Major Toxic Mining Spill in Zambia (Associated Press)

In February, a dam collapse at Chinese-owned Sino-Metals Leach Zambia copper mine released toxic waste into the Kafue River, which provides water for over half of Zambia’s 21 million people. An independent investigation by South African company Drizit found that 1.5 million tons of toxic material were released in the spill, which is 30 times more than Sino-Metals admitted to spilling. When Drizit’s investigation was set to reveal extensive contamination verified through 3,500 samples, Sino-Metals terminated their contract one day before the final report was due.

Climate-related catastrophes are posing significant challenges in already-fragile South Sudan. When record-breaking floods again swept across the country in mid-2024, for instance, the disaster affected 1.4 million people, with the cumulative years of flooding submerging two-thirds of the country.

The Indus Waters Treaty of 1960 has kept two nuclear-armed rivals – India and Pakistan – in a stable river sharing arrangement for more than six decades. Yet that significant achievement now seems to be at risk.

India’s government has stated it is holding the treaty in abeyance and is threatening to cut off water to Pakistan after a terrorist attack killed more than 20 Indian citizens in late April 2025. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi described the treaty as a “blunder” and a “betrayal” of India’s dignity committed by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, and proclaimed that “blood and water cannot flow together.”