UNDP climate security nexus and prevention of violent extremism

This policy brief explores initial lessons learnt from a climate security perspective of efforts to prevent violent extremism in politically and environmentally fragile contexts affected by climate change.

It draws on recent country level examples, preliminary insights from UNDP’s work streams on climate security and the prevention of violent extremism (PVE), as well as an online experts’ consultation held on 2 June 2020, and identifies the need for policy and programming to be informed by cross-cutting climate-related security risks and stresses the importance of further research and examination of good practices to address such risks.

It finds that although climate change may contribute to an enabling environment for violent extremist groups to grow their influence, the root causes of violent extremism, manifested through hate speech, supremacist rhetoric, social and political marginalization, and a host of other factors require other targeted measures to address them. Integrated approaches to climate security and PVE can speak to “no regrets” or “win-win” solutions and the development, human security and prevention efforts we need to pursue today to help avoid the harder security challenges of tomorrow