Toolkits, manuals and guides

Addressing Climate-Related Security Risks

10 July 2019
ACSR Guidance Note

There is growing recognition of the linkages between climate change, peace and security. However, there is limited knowledge and guidance of how to design projects that contribute to climate action and peacebuilding objective.

These tools were developed under the EU-UNEP Climate Change and Security partnership to provide practitioners with practical guidance for integrating a conflict-sensitivity and peacebuilding lens into climate change adaptation and sustainable livelihoods approaches. The tools include:

  1. Guidance Note: This note provides an introduction to designing integrated approaches for addressing climate-related security risks. The note outlines a process for identifying security risks associated with climate change through integrated conflict and climate-sensitive assessments, and describes how to translate these assessments into policies and action.
     
  2. Monitoring & Evaluation Note: An M&E note supports the monitoring and evaluation of strategies, policies, and projects that seek to increase resilience by linking climate change adaptation, peacebuilding, and sustainable livelihoods. It includes guidance on how to measure climate and peacebuilding results and how to design effective indicators for integrated programming.
     
  3. Toolbox: A toolbox provides selected tools and exercises to support the implementation of the different approaches outlined in the Guidance and M&E Notes, with a focus on conducting integrated climate-security analysis, project design, and M&E.

In addition, a one-page integrated analysis tool provides a set of questions and keys concepts to guide filed practitioners and researchers in conducting local assessments of interlinked climate change, environmental, and security risks.

Additional guidance is available in a self-paced Massive Online Open Course  on designing and implementing inclusive approaches to addressing climate-related security. Featuring interactive case studies and expert interviews, the course provides (1) an introduction to climate, peace, and security linkages through an intersectional lens, (2) guidance on conducting integrated analysis, and (3) guidance on programme design and planning to address these multifaceted challenges.

About the project

The European Union (EU) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) established a partnership on climate change and security in 2017, with the aim of collaborating to develop integrated approaches to cli­mate-conflict analysis and deliver actions on the ground to address emerging climate-related security risks. Building on the findings of the report commissioned by the Group of Seven (G7), "A New Climate for Peace,” the five-year EU-UNEP Climate Change and Security project (2017-2022) aimed to strengthen the capacity of countries and interna­tional partners to identify environment and climate-related security risks at global, national and community levels, and to programme sui­table risk reduction and response measures.

Implemented by UNEP, this project was supported by the EU Instrument contributing to Stability and Peace (IcSP). To deliver the project, UNEP worked hand in hand with the German think-tank adelphi on analysis, advocacy and capacity development. At national and community levels in Nepal and Sudan, the project was implemented through Practical Action, in close collaboration with local, state and national authorities.

This set of tools was developed to guide the design and delivery of inte­grated climate-security programming in Nepal and Sudan. The tools were updated at the end of the project to document lessons learned and good practices from the field.

For more information see: unep.org/climatesecurity