This is the link between climate change and conflict - and what can be done about it

Feb 1, 2023

The latest Ecological Threat Report looks at which countries are most at risk of catastrophic outcomes from ecological threats. Image: Unsplash/Markus Spiske

Ewan Thomson

Senior Writer, Formative Content

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Statistic showing the average Ecological Threat Report score by region

Sub-Saharan Africa has the worst Ecological Threat Report score, with around 200 million people at extreme risk of water insecurity. Image: IEP

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What’s the World Economic Forum doing about climate change?

According to the latest Ecological Threats Report, more extreme weather events in low-income countries (LIC) with poor resilience lead to ‘disaster loops’. Image: IEP

The ETR used its research to identify 27 hotspots — home to 768 million people — that have a combination of low societal resilience and high risk of ecological threats. Image: IEP

Statistic showing the food insecurity by region, 2020-2050. ecological threats report

Sub-Saharan Africa has the largest proportion of its population living with catastrophic food insecurity, more than 14 times higher than the next region MENA Image: IEP

Figure showing the number of countries with municipalities projected to be severely water stressed in 2040. ecological threats report

Europe is not immune to the effects of water stress, with 10 countries there forecast to have severe water stress by 2040. Image: IEP

Table showcasing the countries with the fastest population growth, 2020-2050. ecological threats report

All 15 countries with the fastest population growth are in sub-Saharan Africa. Image: UNIDESA

Graph showing the trend in the number of natural disasters, 1981-2021. ecological threats report

Asia-Pacific is the most impacted region for natural disasters, followed by sub-Saharan Africa and Central America & the Caribbean. Image: EMDAT

This figure illustrates the complex cause-effect interactions between migration, conflict and ecological threats. Image: Abel et al. 2019

Illustration of system analysis. Ecological Threats

Complex frameworks like HALO help to map out problems before policymakers design and implement solutions. Image: IEP

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