New Security Beat August Digest ~ World Unsulved Mistery

Environmental Change and Security Program

NEW SECURITY BEAT august DIGEST

Bolivia and Lithium: Can slow and steady win the race?

September 2, 2022 // By Kathryn Ledebur & Erika Weinthal

The looming 27th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP) of the UNFCCC in Egypt in November 2022 brings with it a moment of truth for many nations. They must intensify decarbonization efforts to meet their share of global commitments agreed upon at the Paris COP. Yet, the already significant challenges also have intensified. Disruptions of oil and gas flows caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine are slowing a global green energy transition—at least in the short-term. The depth of the crisis means countries are even scrambling to keep coal-powered plants working.

What China's Heatwave from Hell Tells us About the Future of Climate Action

September 1, 2022 // By Scott Moore

The summer of 2022 has been a season of climatic extremes across the globe, including record-breaking heatwaves and droughts in both the United States and Europe. But even these unprecedented extreme weather events pale in comparison with China's heatwave from hell. For more than two months, a huge swath of the world's most populous nation has been baking under temperatures of up to 113 degrees Fahrenheit. According to state media, this extreme heatwave affects an area of over 500,000 square miles, equivalent to more than twice the size of Texas. In terms of duration, intensity, and area affected, it is almost certainly the most severe heatwave ever recorded anywhere in the world.

Moving in Opposite Directions: Abortion Rights in Latin America and the United States

August 31, 2022 // By Beatriz García Nice

In its June 2022 decision, Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, the U.S. Supreme Court abandoned decades of precedent to strike down the constitutional right to abortion. This ruling—and a shift in regulatory power over abortion to individual states—is having a profound impact in American society. Already, a record number of abortion measures are on ballots to protect or abolish abortion rights. In many states, the fight over abortion access continues to take place in courtrooms. Far from settling the matter, the Supreme Court's ruling showcases the deep divide over abortion in American society.

Climate Security at USAID: (Re)defining an Integrative Issue

August 30, 2022 // By Daniel Abrahams & Allison Brown

Climate security is an essential conceptual framework to understand the global interplay of biophysical and socioeconomic forces that threaten our planet. Indeed, it is so important that new currents of science, politics, and advocacy make refining definitions a necessity.

Fishing for Equity and Inclusion: Women's Socioeconomic Factors in Kenyan Fisheries

August 29, 2022 // By Margaret Gatonye

Seeing Loreta sort and dry her Omena sardines at the shores of Lake Victoria in Western Kenya, one may dismiss this small, middle-aged woman as an ordinary fishmonger struggling to earn a living.

Yet Loreta does more than sell raw fish. Every morning, she walks seven miles to Sori, the nearest fish landing site to her village, to buy fresh fish and then carry it to sell in the nearby market. She also works with other women in her village, empowering them to start small businesses of their own by training and mentoring them.

Leveraging Hydropower for Peace

August 24, 2022 // By Emilie Broek & Kyungmee Kim

Hydropower is the largest source of low-carbon electricity in the world today. And its benefits are needed more than ever. The International Energy Agency estimates that we will need to double the amount of installed hydropower capacity—which stands today at around 1360 gigawatts worldwide—in order to limit the rise in average global temperatures to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Agricultural Land in Russian Territorial and Geopolitical Ambitions

August 22, 2022 // By Jiayi Zhou

The negative impacts on global food security wrought by Russia's war in Ukraine are obvious. But recent news that Russia currently occupies more than one fifth of Ukrainian farmland, draws attention to another dimension of this politically-induced food and agricultural crisis: land itself. Of course, territory has long been an object of conflict and warfare. But agricultural land—in particular—is also a key, though understated, dimension of the geopolitical ambitions undergirding Russian activity at home and abroad.

Climate Solutions from the Ground Up: The Importance of Place-Based Approaches

August 16, 2022 // By Louise Bedsworth, Ken Alex & Ted Lamm

Meeting the immense impacts of climate change will require strong "top-down" policies to reduce emissions and remove carbon from the atmosphere, as well as building resilience in the face of climate stresses and shocks. As communities and governments undertake rapid and fundamental transformation of sectors and systems—energy, transportation, buildings and even green spaces—the need for governments to develop strategies that drive innovation and technological solutions becomes more urgent and essential.

Creating an Environment of Peace Means Avoiding Backdraft

August 15, 2022 // By Noah Bell & Geoffrey D. Dabelko

A new contribution in a continuing series examining "backdraft" — the unintended consequences of climate change responses — and how its effects might be anticipated and minimized to avoid conflict and promote peace.

The much-needed transition to a zero carbon, green economy offers opportunities to contribute to peace, but only if the conflict risks of transition are understood and managed to produce a just and peaceful transition. That means minimizing "backdraft"—the unintended negative impacts of transition that are a key obstacle to that goal.

Turning Power on its Head: A Meaningful Shift Toward Localization

August 10, 2022 // By Koki Agarwal

Of COVID-19's many lessons, one is most critical to our collective next steps:

Business as usual in global health is no longer possible.

The pandemic exposed weaknesses in health systems across the world, and particularly in the delivery of equitable, high-quality reproductive, maternal, newborn, adolescent, and child health (RMNCAH) services. It also reinforced that effectively addressing these challenges requires rapid, responsive approaches driven and owned by countries and local institutions.

New Global Health & Gender Policy Brief: Global Fertility Rates and the Role of Infertility

August 3, 2022 // By Maternal Health Initiative Staff

While the world's population now approaches 8 billion people, global fertility rates have been declining for decades. The overall drivers of this decline include increased access to contraception and reproductive health care, an increase in women seeking higher education, women's empowerment in the workforce, lower rates of child mortality globally, increased cost of raising children, and overall greater gender equality.

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