What do we know about the link between climate security risks and conflict? How are these risks perceived and governed by states and multilateral institutions?

The new Biden administration has pledged to make climate change a priority. Joe Biden signed an executive order directing the federal government to make climate change an integral part of its foreign and national security policy. Other countries have pushed multilateral institutions such as the European Union, UN Environment, the UN Security Council or the World Bank to address climate risks for human and national security, and it goes in line with years of thinking within the defence sector.

While 2020 and 2016 have been the hottest years on record, the world has also seen an increase in armed conflicts. This free seminar gathers researchers from the Mistra Geopolitics research programme to discuss new evidence on what we know about the link between climate change and conflict and how risks are perceived and governed by states and multilateral institutions.

Mistra Geopolitics is a research programme that examines the dynamics of geopolitics, human security, and environmental change.

Panel Discussion

Moderated by

Robert Egnell, Vice-Chancellor of the Swedish Defence University, Professor in Leadership

Speakers and panelists

Björn-Ola Linnér, Professor Environmental Change, Centre for Climate Science and Policy Research, Linköping University, Programme Director Mistra Geopolitics

Lisa Dellmuth, Associate Professor of International Relations, Dept of Economic History and International Relations, Stockholm University, Mistra Geopolitics

Nina von Uexkull, Senior Lecturer in International Relations, Stockholm University, Associate Senior Researcher, Peace Research Institute Oslo, Mistra Geopolitics

Maria Jernäs, PhD candidate, Department of Thematic Studies – Environmental Change, Linköping University and Mistra Geopolitics

For more information, visit the Mistra Geopolitics website.