Climate Change – The Gathering Momentum of the Security Debate

RUSI Newsbrief, 6 Jul 2007 By Dr Tobias Feakin There has been a veritable ‘tidal wave’ of political capital expended on the topic of climate change. Within this new focus of political and media attentions, the topic of climate change as a security issue has become an increasingly debated area by academics and politicians alike. It is perceived that the threat climate change will pose to global long-term security is grave in nature and severe in consequence.

In fact, climate change has been identified as a threat which vastly eclipses that of terrorism. Yet for many the linkage between climate change and ‘security’ is tenuous, ill-defined and hard to imagine. However, a failure to seriously consider the potential economic and social effects of climate change could have unfortunate consequences, especially in the poorer regions of the world. How can the ability to grow economically be reconciled with lowering pollution levels in the developing world? This is a question that is far from being answered and will cause great debate for years to come.

Further Analysis: Climate Security, Global Security Issues

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