Planetary Security Initiative

Report published by the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), August 2026 Abyei is a disputed, oil-rich territory between Sudan and South Sudan, home to more than 125,000 people. The UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) operates there amid unresolved territorial claims, intercommunal tensions, armed groups and growing spillovers from the war in Sudan and instability in South Sudan.

Critical Questions Interview by the Center for Strategic Studies and International Studies, August 5, 2026 In a recent CSIS Critical Questions Interview, Franck Gbaguidi and Caitlin Welsh provide a rounded overview of the connection between water and security. During the interview multiple elements that are turning access to water into a security issue were highlighted.

Policy Brief published by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), 19 August, 2026. Droughts are becoming harder to manage as a standalone environmental hazard. However, their impacts can move through land and water systems into food production, energy, transport, livelihoods, migration and, in already fragile contexts, political instability and conflict. This new UNCCD policy brief argues that this is precisely why drought policy needs to change.

Briefer published by the Council on Strategic Risks, 13 August, 2026 From Spain to South Korea, armed forces are being called in more frequently to respond to wildfires. A new briefer by the Council on Strategic Risks looks at what this means for defence as wildfire seasons become more intense, less predictable and increasingly difficult to contain. The scale of military involvement is already significant.

Journal article published by Global Environmental Change, volume 98, July 2026. It is widely known that climate change and conflict can reinforce one another, particularly in communities already facing weak institutions, livelihood insecurity and environmental degradation. Yet interventions designed to address these challenges are still often developed and implemented separately.

This article was originally published on July 29, 2026, as part of an ongoing collaboration between the European Leadership Network and the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Climate change is transforming the Arctic: Melting sea ice, thawing permafrost, and changing maritime accessibility are opening new territories, resources, and shipping routes while reshaping the region’s strategic landscape.

The CCASCOE Brief is a recurring climate‑security series published six times a year. Each edition offers a clear and accessible synthesis of complex climate‑security issues from multiple perspectives, aimed at specialists, practitioners, policymakers, decision‑makers, and anyone interested in how climate change intersects with and transforms security and defence.

This expert report by the ‘German Advisory Council on Global Change’ (WBGU) argues that the changing global climate is a security risk to society; strategies for both should thus be integrated. Global environmental changes such as climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution are security risks. At the same time, environmental policy – and climate policy in particular – can contribute to national security policy.

On Friday 3 July, the Netherlands Ministry of Defence presented its new Climate Change and Security Strategy. The publication marks a milestone for Dutch defence policy, formally introducing a comprehensive framework to address climate change not merely as an environmental concern, but as a critical threat multiplier that fundamentally reshapes global stability and national defence readiness.

Episode 4 of the ‘Climate, Crisis and Courage’ podcast, produced by the United Nations. Hosted by Nazanine Moshiri, who speaks to Andrea Dekroutand Peshtiwan Al-Dawoudiof the Berghof Foundation. The podcast was published on June 12th. Iraq is facing a deepening water crisis, driven by years of conflict, drought, rising temperatures, and pollution. Communities experience the direct impacts of climate change, such as failed harvests and rising water salinity.