Climate Change and Security in the Horn Of Africa: Can Europe Help to Reduce the Risks?

Climate change pressures are already interacting with conflict dynamics in the Horn of Africa. European actors are approaching climate security risks in the Horn through interventions and projects across the region. This CSEN Policy Paper provides an overview of the linkages, in the literature and in the region, between climate change or variability and violent conflict, and an overview of some of the interventions in the region.

The climate-conflict link is increasingly integrated into the global policymaking discourse. Beyond the question of whether climate change affects security, thoughts are turning to how exactly security is affected, and what the most effective responses are. The Horn of Africa is an area of geostrategic significance. As the 2011 EU Horn of Africa strategy pointed out, climate change exacerbates existing pressures in the region, including poverty, food insecurity and population growth, despite the fact that the countries of the Horn have little to no control over global carbon emissions (EU Council 2011).

This CSEN Policy paper seeks to contribute a summary of the science on the linkages between climate change/environmental degradation and violent conflict in the region; and an overview of how the EU and European actors are engaging on climate security in the Horn. It concludes with some considerations for future interventions.

For further information, please visit the Climate Security Expert Network (CSEN) website.