The list of potential calamities that are like to become more frequent as a result of climate change seems to be growing by the day. Climate change has the potential to affect the enjoyment of human rights and is estimated to affect the most vulnerable populations the most. For some time now, discussions have taken place as to whether climate change will also result in an increase in armed conflicts. A recent paper by Halvard Buhaug of theCentre for the Study of Civil War, Peace Research Institute Oslo (published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science ), indicates that the empirical evidence behind such claims is at best weak. Instead, Buhaug argues that political, ethnic and economic factors are better indicators.
For further information see Roger Pielke Jr’s blog (noting that if nothing else climate change seems to be the cause of civil wars in academia) and Nature.
Filed under: Africa, Environmental Law, International Environmental Law
I find the correlation between climate change and perceived human rights interesting. If climate changes, what will we do with the people living in regions of the world that are no longer fit for human occupation?
I think this is a really interesting topic, and one that definitely needs to be addressed soon globally. These changes are already happening so we do need to act now.