Research on Climate Change and Conflict

The journal Peace Research has just published a special issue on climate change and conflict. The introductory essay, by Nils Petter Gleditsch, says this:

On the whole, however, it seems fair to say that so far there is not yet much evidence for climate change as an important driver of conflict.

Gleditsch also offers a gentle suggestion to the IPCC:

The IPCC is currently working on its Fifth Assessment Report, scheduled for release in 2013. For the first time, this report will have a chapter on the consequences of climate change for human security, including armed conflict (IPCC, no date). We hope that the studies reported here will contribute to a balanced assessment by the IPCC, built on the best peer-reviewed evidence.

That such a statement has to be made is a statement itself.

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