Climate Security

This book presents an empirical study of the role of knowledge in the making of the climate-security nexus.Climate change might give the Soviet Union a competitive advantage in the cold war. Extreme droughts contributed to wars in Darfur, Syria or Yemen. Melting sea ice creates geopolitical risks. Russia’s climate-destroying hydrocarbons enabled its invasion of Ukraine. These are just some of the many ways in which climate change and conflicts have been linked. In this innovative book, Matti Goldberg considers how such connections are constructed and asks to what extent they are driven by evidence and science. Goldberg describes the tools used to present the wars of Darfur and Syria as “climate wars”, considers the fragmented role of the sciences in those presentations, and the resulting patterns of influence and marginalization of impacted populations. The author also highlights how the international community can better integrate the situations of peoples at the frontlines of climate change into policymaking and based on the analysis of the dynamic nature of power, identifies potential entry points for positive change. Climate Security is a must-read for researchers interested in climate-security links, in science-policy interfaces, and in the formation of nexuses in international politics.This book is a must-read for researchers interested in climate-security links, in science-policy interfaces, and in the formation of nexuses in international politics. It is also of interest for practitioners working on the climate-security nexus and science-policy interfaces.

Matti Goldberg has worked for 14 years at the UN climate change secretariat, supporting the efforts of governments to develop landmark climate policy instruments, such as the Paris Agreement. He currently works as an independent climate policy consultant. He holds a Master’s degree from the University of Munich. In October 2022, he defended his PhD thesis on the role of knowledge in linking climate change and conflicts at the Technical University of Darmstadt.