On 17 October, UNIDIR’s Managing Exits from Armed Conflict (MEAC) project, adelphi, the Berghof Foundation, the Foundation for Conservation and Sustainable Development (FCDS) and the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (FDFA) jointly organized a peace panel discussion entitled, “A dangerous intersection: Climate change, environmental degradation and inadequate governance as drivers of armed conflict and large-scale criminal violence” at this year’s Geneva Peace Week.
Under the ‘Environment, Climate and Peace’ track of Geneva Peace Week, the panel discussion explored how the confluence of climate change, human-induced environmental degradation and inadequate governance can create conditions that are conducive to organized – and even unorganized but large-scale – political and criminal violence. To this end, MEAC shared evidence from our growing research in Nigeria, Chad, Iraq and Colombia that shows how climate change can exacerbate climate risks by driving armed group recruitment. The panel also discussed what can be done to address these vulnerabilities at the local, national and regional levels and in multilateral fora.
