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Online Event | Burning Sand: MENA and Climate Change
This is a cross-post from the Cambridge Middle East and North Africa Forum.
Written By Patrik Kurath
https://zoom.us/j/91788674458
Meeting ID: 917 8867 4458
By the end of the century, the Persian Gulf could be too hot for human habitation. Water sources like the Golan Heights and the Nile are sources of tensions. With the effects of climate change only set to grow in the coming of years, what are the consequences for the region? With implications on security, migration, and local economies, a change is necessary but remains unclear. While countries like Morocco are embracing solar energy, Saudi Arabia continues to rely on oil. To find out and discuss what this all means, join us on Tuesday 8 September at 4 pm (UK time) to hear our panel of experts discuss the ramifications and possible solutions to this multi-decade challenge.
(more…)Despite Politics, the Pentagon Launches New Effort on Climate and Environmental Security
By John Conger
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has been addressing climate change issues and examining how they impact national security for a long time – across multiple Administrations, both Democrat and Republican. In recent years, the DoD has done so despite political pressures to the contrary, though prioritization of the issue declined significantly after the departure of Secretary of Defense James Mattis. However, recent articles (here and here) highlight a new effort within the Pentagon called Recourse Competition, Environmental Security, and Stability (RECESS), led by the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Stability and Humanitarian Affairs), that seeks to create a coherent internal network within the Pentagon to address climate and environmental security threats. According to recent news, the effort is intended to “corral the Pentagon’s top experts on climate and the environment to better prepare U.S. forces for future threats and conflicts” and has “already collected more than 60 people from across the military, including the intelligence community and combatant commands.” This initiative is new and exciting for a few reasons.
(more…)The Security Imperative of Stopping Climate Change: Reflections on the 2019 State of the Climate Report
With the next Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) synthesis report delayed until sometime in 2022 and the next U.S. National Climate Assessment (NCA) slated for 2023, it’s important to look to other organizations for synthesized data on the current state of the climate. One such organization is the American Meteorological Society (AMS). AMS recently published their annual State of the Climate report, a global, multi-author effort that summarizes 2019’s regional and global climate trends. The picture is very concerning.
(more…)FEMA Announces Grant Funding Opportunity that Includes Climate Change Resilience
The U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recently announced a funding opportunity for states, territories, tribal governments, and communities to compete for a total of $500,000,000 from the Building Resilient Infrastructure Communities (BRIC) Program. The BRIC program seeks to support grantees in their efforts to mitigate risks from natural hazards, encourage innovative solutions, such as the use of nature-based solutions, and, revise and improve building codes to protect populations against future conditions that include climate change, e.g., sea-level rise. Applications are due January 29, 2021.