Conflict prevention in the era of climate change: Adapting the UN to climate-security risks

This report aims to support the United Nations (UN) and its partners in developing climate-sensitive conflict prevention approaches. It offers: (1) a literature review covering the major scholarship on the links between climate change and violent conflict; (2) in-depth case studies on climate-security dynamics in Bangladesh and Nigeria; and (3) cross-cutting conclusions and recommendations for the UN system.

The main cross-cutting recommendations are as follows:

1. Analyse indirect impacts.
2. Focus on governance, not just scarcity.
3. Build up foresight capacities.
4. Look for maladaptation and inequality.
5. Adopt multi-scalar, cross-border responses.
6. Build a common language for climate-security.
7. Prioritize and bring climate-security into the broader climate discussion.
8. Strengthen knowledge management and build an evidence base.