Fifteenth Global Studies Conference

Abstract

Global warming raises the question as to whether it is a new source of political instability and conflict. Food insecurity, geopolitical competition, weaponization of natural resources are but few problems linked to a changing climate. In fact, climate change has been described by the United States’ Pentagon as a “threat multiplier.” To add insult to injury, climate change is warming weather systems faster in countries with the lowest GDP, with the exception of Australia. These are also the countries with weakest democratic institutions and governance capacity. In short, we are talking about a cascade of effects linked to climate change: a series of disasters that overlap, combine forces, and amplify. Think of the years of drought in Australia ending in 2019, followed by 2020 fires, followed by the 2021 floods and the massive destruction of habitats and biodiversity; or think of California where 5 of 6 biggest wildfires in its history occurred in 2020. In our research, we quantitatively examine this using public data.