How Climate Disasters Can Drive Violent Conflict Around the World

Higher temperatures and rising sea levels associated with climate change are expected to contribute to food and water shortages, in turn displacing communities. “Overall, multiple studies have indicated a connection between climate and conflict, although several have suggested that the link may be weak,” notes Chelsea Harvey for the Washington Post. A research study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America examined armed conflicts and natural disasters between 1980 and 2010 side by side along with the economic consequences. “Altogether, they found a significant link between climate disasters and the outbreak of violent conflict specifically in countries with high degrees of ethnic fractionalization,” Harvey writes. “Notably, the other factors did not seem to play an important role – only when countries were examined in terms of their ethnic divides did climate events significantly exacerbate the outbreak of conflict.” The next step could be developing a predictive model. - YaleGlobal