The Intertwined Futures of Climate Action, Fragility and Peacebuilding
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As our understanding of the climate crisis becomes more complex, so too must the strategies designed to address it.
Crises are often described narrowly; clearly differentiated by the aspect of society they impact, such as the economy or national security. But the COVID pandemic and looming climate crisis have shown that lines distinguishing one crisis from another aren’t as distinct as they may seem, and that underlying issues like COVID can impact a number of sectors simultaneously. Navigating the intersection of health, economic, governance and humanitarian issues has become the defining challenge of the pandemic response, offering policymakers a preview of how long-term challenges such as climate change will require a similarly holistic and coordinated strategy that brings together disciplines that have historically been independent.
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TACOMA, Washington Violent conflicts have been on the rise for the past 30 years and now face further escalation with the debilitating effects of COVID-19 on fragile states. Almost two-thirds of the globe’s most extremely impoverished people live in fragile and conflict-affected regions. Therefore, in order to ultimately end poverty, the most fragile states need to be prioritized. The United States’ most recent response to this critical challenge was the 2019 Global Fragility Act, which proposed a complete overhaul of the nation’s previous approach to fragile states. The State Department released the official Global Fragility Strategy (GFS) document on Dec. 18, 2020, detailing the United States’ first comprehensive strategy to address conflict prevention, stabilization and peacebuilding.
The global economy is projected to rebound from the effects of COVID-19 in 2021, but the world’s most fragile states may not share in the upswing. Saddled with economic collapse and soaring debt, developing economies are likely to be left further behind after shrinking about 5 percent last year, according to World Bank estimates. As a result, over 55 million people could be plunged deeper into poverty, fueling social and political grievances and increasing the risks of instability.
Pedestrians fill a busy street in Nairobi, Kenya. June 9, 2020. (Khadija Farah/The New York Times)
The dangers of this crisis should prompt the United States to develop a more effective approach to financing in fragile states by refocusing attention and resources on the essential role of fiscal resilience in helping nations escape the fragility trap. The core elements of this approach involve forging strategic coherence between multilateral financial strategies and the implementation of the Global Frag
Climate Change Must Be Tackled as a Global Security Risk
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by Joshua Busby, Morgan Bazilian, and Florian Krampe
When the United Nations put out emergency appeals for modest amounts of money to help Syria with the drought that preceded its civil war, they were dramatically underfunded member states only provided a quarter of the amount requested in 2008, and a third in 2009. The United States did not contribute.
Scholars believe the displaced were among those who ultimately joined the protests and revolution that the Syrian government violently suppressed. While early intervention on its own may not have prevented the conflict in Syria, suppose small investments in drought preparedness and response could help us avoid such catastrophes in the future. Would that not be money well spent?