Undercurrents examines the complex relationship between war, increasing climate-related hazards and environmental degradation in Yemen that are undermining security and driving further conflict, particularly at the local level.

Today, climate change is a driver of conflict and a threat multiplier affecting many areas of life. To illustrate the diverse effects of climate change, national and international experts from the OSCE participating States were asked to share their expertise and views.

This roadmap outlines some of the critical challenges Yemen faces in integrating climate security into its policy, suggesting a course of action for the short, medium, and long term and provides recommendations for the donor community.

Severe climate change impacts in Iraq are reshaping its social and economic landscapes. Among those most acutely affected are farmers in the Dhi Qar and Missan governorates, where heat waves and water shortages have become more frequent, resulting in increasing levels of crop failure and livestock loss.

Amid mounting climate- and environmental- risks in Yemen, the European Institute of Peace (EIP) is streamlining climate considerations into local and national peacebuilding efforts through inclusive consultations and dialogues.

Since 2021, the monthly radio programme Garasho-wadaag (‘Sharing of Knowledge’) has been amplifying the voices of local peacebuilders, experts, and communities as they share knowledge on the environment, climate change, and peace in Galmudug.

Fisheries are a cornerstone of livelihoods in the Bay of Bengal, sustaining millions of people who depend on marine resources for their income and food security. However, fish stocks in the region are rapidly depleting due to overexploitation, illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and the far-reaching effects of climate change.

Access to and ownership of land is a long-standing source of dispute between communities in Yemen’s Ma’rib governorate. However, now, environmental degradation occurring as a result of Yemen’s war, climate impacts, and an enormous influx of IDPs is intensifying competition and conflict, particularly between host communities and IDPs.

The Weathering Risk Peace Pillar is harnessing the integration of climate and environmental challenges into peace programming for improved outcomes in regions severely affected by violent conflict and climate change.

Since its emergence nearly two decades ago, the concept of climate security has been an important avenue to uphold the place of human security within the international climate system. At COP29, human security and peace is on the agenda, with a thematic day on Peace, Relief and Recovery.

In rural northwest Iraq, employment opportunities outside of farming are rare. Without sufficient water supply to maintain these livelihoods, the so-called Islamic State offered an economic escape.

The culmination of the IPCC Sixth Assessment cycle, the recently published synthesis report makes clear the contribution of climate change to global security.

The security risks in the Sahel are not in opposition to climactic concerns. Indeed, understanding them may help unlock the possibility of more lasting solutions.

More than 11,300 people are confirmed to have died in the floods that struck eastern Libya on early September. Humanitarian aid deliveries and rescue missions have been slowed down due to political fragmentation.