Bangladesh topper listen over lande, hvor risikoen er meget stor for, at klimaforandringer fører til flere konflikter, særligt fordi ekstremt vejr truer fødevaresikkerheden. Det fremgår af en liste over lande, der trues af klimakonflikt.
Det skriver den britiske konsulentvirksomhed Maplecroft i en pressemeddelelse onsdag.
Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and the Philippines among key economies identified
A worrying combination of climate change vulnerability and food insecurity is amplifying the risks of conflict and civil unrest in 32 countries.
These include the emerging markets of Bangladesh, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and the Philippines, according to the time-series datasets in the seventh annual Climate Change and Environmental Risk Atlas (CCERA) released by global risk analytics company Maplecroft.
The Atlas, which provides comparable risk data for 198 countries across 26 separate issues, including climate change vulnerability and food security, as well as emissions, ecosystem services, natural disasters and regulation, echoes the findings of recent reports released by the Pentagon that identified climate change as a ‘threat multiplier,’ which escalates the risk of conflicts and unrest.
Bangladesh, Nigeria, India, Myanmar, Philippines – among most vulnerable to climate change
Maplecroft identifies 32 ’extreme risk’ countries in its Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI), which evaluates the sensitivity of populations, the physical exposure of countries, and governmental capacity to adapt to climate change over the next 30 years.
Bangladesh (1st and most at risk), Sierra Leone, South Sudan, Nigeria, Chad, Haiti, Ethiopia, Philippines, Central African Republic and Eritrea are the ten countries facing the highest levels of risk, while the growth economies of Cambodia (12), India (13), Myanmar (19), Pakistan (24) and Mozambique (27) also feature in the ‘extreme risk’ category.
One of the unifying characteristics of these economies identified by the CCERA is that they depend heavily on agriculture, with 65% of their combined working population employed in the sector, while 28% of their overall economic output relies on agricultural revenues.
Maplecroft states that changing weather patterns are already impacting food production, poverty, migration and social stability – factors that significantly increase the risk of conflicts and instability in fragile and emerging states alike.
UN IPCC figures estimate declines of up to 50% for staples such as rice, wheat and maize in some locations over the next 35 years due to the impacts of climate change.
This scenario is particularly significant for the 32 most vulnerable countries in the CCVI. Eleven of these are also classified at ‘extreme risk’ Maplecroft’s Food Security Risk Index, including: South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Eritrea, DR Congo, Sudan, Burundi and Afghanistan – countries where high levels of poverty, displacement, political violence and conflict already exist.
Food security in the remaining 21 is rated ‘high risk,’ however, given the likely increase in extreme weather events such as drought, it is a situation Maplecroft says could worsen
Conflation of risks impact economic growth, business continuity and military capabilities
According to Maplecroft, the conflation and worsening of these risks in a country have the potential to destabilise regional security, hurt national economies and impact the operations and supply chains of business.
In addition, military resources, which have traditionally focused on security based missions, are increasingly being drawn into disaster relief efforts.
Subsequent outcomes also include increased poverty and migration and reduced levels of education, which in turn can lead to disenfranchisement of certain communities and drive support for radical groups.
Nigeria, ranked 4th most at risk in the CCVI, is cited as a prime example of a country where this has occurred. Widespread drought and food insecurity helped create the socio-economic conditions that led to the emergence of Boko Haram and the violent insurgency in the North East of the country.
Food insecurity and food price volatility have also been identified as triggers to the Arab Spring – particularly in Egypt and the current Syrian conflict.
With one in four people still undernourished in sub-Saharan Africa, climate change impacts make it even more difficult for governments across the region to improve food security and help reduce tensions.
“Unlike policy makers who often ignore or politicise the science in seeking short-term objectives, global business and the military now view climate change as an important risk management imperative,” states Dr James Allan, Head of Environment at Maplecroft.
“Identifying future flashpoints will help proactive organisations and governments make strategic decisions.”
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