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Climate Change, State Fragility and the New CHIRPS Dataset

Reuters/Rodi Said
By Dr. Colin Kelley, Senior Research Fellow, The Center for Climate and Security
In order to better understand the nexus linking climate change and state fragility, we need to better grasp the effects of climatic changes, particularly in rainfall and temperature, at the regional, national and subnational levels, and what they mean for resource availability. Enter a new data product called CHIRPS.
The USAID Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS NET), in conjunction with scientists at the University of California Santa Barbara, recently developed a new precipitation dataset in support of drought monitoring called CHIRPS (Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Station data). CHIRPS has already been utilized successfully for this purpose, but also has other far reaching implications that will be important for better understanding of subnational to global security dynamics. These include an improved characterization of resilience in regions and states that are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and variability. (more…)
Canadian Foreign Minister on Climate Change, Security and Fragility

Canadian Sailors unload supplies on board Naval Air Station Pensacola, Fla. to assist with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 3rd Class Jay C. Pugh
The Canadian Government’s Global Affairs Canada (a department that includes the country’s foreign affairs, trade and development ministers), held a conference yesterday on “Climate Change and Security: Fragile States.” The conference included a presentation by the Center for Climate & Security’s Senior Fellow for International Affairs, Shiloh Fetzek, as well an address by the Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Dion (see below). See Minister Dion’s full remarks here. This address and conference, explicitly focused on the links between climate change and state fragility, follows on the heels of a recent bi-lateral agreement between the United States and Canada to expand cooperation on matters of climate and security.
For a nuanced look at climate and security as it relates to the Arctic and Canada, also see this interview with Dr. Chad Briggs produced by adelphi. (more…)
A Presidential Perspective on Climate Change and Security
By Neil Bhatiya, Climate and Diplomacy Fellow, The Center for Climate and Security
In a wide-ranging story published today in the Atlantic, correspondent Jeffrey Goldberg analyzes the Obama Administration’s foreign policy record, and the particular mix of ideas, experiences, and emotions that underpin the President’s approach to the world. Over the course of several years, Goldberg has discussed global crises with the President, from Afghanistan to Libya, Syria, and Ukraine. Among the fascinating details is an excerpt that reveals how the President tries to think of the varied threats facing the country: (more…)
U.S.-Canada Agree to Continue Climate and Security Cooperation

By Pete Souza
President Obama and Prime Minister Trudeau issued a U.S.-Canada Joint Statement on Climate, Energy, and Arctic Leadership today. The statement clearly recognizes the links between climate change, state fragility, and national security. The leaders both agreed to continue to cooperate internationally to address these challenges throughout their defense, diplomacy and development policies and specifically through the G7. Importantly, this bi-lateral agreement reinforces the multi-lateral commitment at the G7 to more deeply address the intersection of climate change and state fragility. The text from the agreement reads: (more…)