EWI is working with leaders, specialists and governments around the world to develop preventive responses to political instability caused by climate change. Severe climate has already helped create security threats in water-stressed areas such as the Darfur region of Sudan. Projected changes to climate in the next few decades threaten to exacerbate such threats and foment social conflict and large-scale violence in many of the poorest and most unstable parts of the world.

The Climate Security initiative combines EWI’s established process – convening diverse parties, reframing security challenges and mobilizing resources to implement solutions – with the technical expertise of our partners to help create new techniques, strategies and institutions to deal with the destabilizing effects of climate change.

The initiative works with leaders in the U.S., Russia, China, India and other countries to:

1. devise new and effective international collaborative mechanisms to enhance international capacity to respond to climate-related security threats;
2. reframe solutions and develop consensus proposals for new agreements, policies and regulations that promote the interests of affected people, their communities and their governments;
3. champion and mobilize resources to implement high-impact proposals.

The climate security initiative places a special emphasis on the security of energy and water resources. Our first major effort looks at cooperative action by Africa, China, the European Union and the United States to address urgent problems of climate security in the most vulnerable parts of Africa.