No climate security without human security: Insights from Africa’s climate hotspots

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As Denmark prepares its candidature for a non-permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in 2025-26, climate change has been identified as a key priority in its contribution to global peace. However, the impact of climate change on global peace and security is much debated. Experts and states have diverging perspectives on the climate-security nexus, on whose security is at stake, and on what should be done. 
In fragile conflict affected contexts, climate change is commonly interpretated as a ‘threat multiplier’ challenging international stability by triggering migration, resource conflicts, and expanding recruitment for non-state armed actors. This framing reflects prevailing international security concerns but runs the risk of favoring state security and military responses at the expense of human security. 

Drawing on a combination of practitioner expertise and research on the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, both deemed fragile climate security ‘hotspots’, the speakers will address how climate change has emerged as a game changer for the humanitarian system, how fragile settings present particular challenges – but also demands for – support to climate change adaptation and finance and what examples of support have shown promise.

Programme
15.00-15.05     Welcome, Kristian Fischer (TBC)
15.05-15.20     Climate-security emergencies in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel, Signe Cold-Ravnkilde & Louise Moe
15.20-15.35     Insights on climate adaptation in Somaliland, Roble Abdi Muse (online presentation)
15.35-15.50     Climate change – a game changer for the humanitarian system?, Andrea Steinke
15.50-16.00     Comments to speakers, Louise Moe
16.00-16.45     Q&A, moderated by Signe Cold-Ravnkilde
16.45-17.00    Coffee & networking

Speakers
Roble Abdi Muse is Director General of SORADI and a development and humanitarian specialist with over a decade's experience in humanitarian and development programming with UN and International organizations in Somaliland and HOA region. He is a P.hD canddate on Pastoralist and Climate Change and holds a MA in Public Policy and BSc in Economics.

Dr Andrea Steinke is a research fellow at the Centre for Humanitarian Action (HCA), a Berlin-based think tank on humanitarian policy question. She currently leads the research project on climate change and humanitarian change. In the past she has studied faith-based humanitarian intervention, civil-military cooperation and South-South cooperation in UN peacekeeping and the humanitarian-development-peace Nexus.

Louise Wiuff Moe is Associate Professor of international politics at Roskilde University (RUC). Principal Investigator of the research program Pastoralist Climate Change Resilience in Somaliland (PACCS) (2022-2027). Louise is an expert on climate change and (in)security as well as on international security governance, in the domains of peacekeeping, stabilization and the Protection of Civilians.

Signe Marie Cold-Ravnkilde is a Senior Researcher at DIIS. Signe Marie Cold-Ravnkilde’s primary areas of research are security, migration, and development in Africa. In particular, she focuses on conflict, terror, and peacebuilding as well as on international interventions (including the UN, the EU, and Western intervening states) and climate security in West Africa’s Sahel-region.

Kristian Fischer, Director of DIIS

Practical information
The seminar will be in English. Physical participation is free of charge, but registration is required. Please use our online registration form.

Livestream does not require registration. The video livestream will appear on this page just before the seminar starts.

Recorded Tuesday 13 December 2022, 15.00-17.00, DIIS ∙ Danish Institute for International Studies