On 8 May, SIPRI, in cooperation with the Nordic Africa Institute and the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, hosted an event on ‘Climate, Peace and Security in West Africa and the Sahel: Towards Effective Responses’. The event was held in a roundtable format with researchers, practitioners and policymakers from other research organizations and Swedish government institutions. Notable attendees included Robert Rydberg, Swedish Ambassador for Climate and Security.
West Africa is witnessing the effects of climate change at faster rates than the global average. This situation has become more pressing as climate change interacts with political tensions, violent conflicts and humanitarian emergencies. The event provided a platform to discuss climate-related security risks in West Africa and identify possible entry points towards effective responses. Specifically, participants were asked to identify responses that consider the interconnectedness of climate, peace and security concerns.
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SIPRI’s work on climate change and risk provides reliable insights on how climate-related security risks evolve and how they are interlinked and interact with different social, political and economic processes. SIPRI researchers also analyse how different policy organizations are responding to these risks and provide advice on conflict-sensitive adaptation, mitigation strategies and how international efforts for sustaining peace can be achieved.
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