Exploring the Climate Change, Migration and Conflict Nexus

The potential link between climate change, migration, and conflict has been widely discussed and is increasingly viewed by policy makers as a security issue.

However, considerable uncertainty remains regarding the role that climate variability and change play among the many drivers of migration and conflict.

The overall objective of this paper is to explore the potential pathways linking climate change, migration and increased risk of conflict.

We review the existing literature surrounding this issue and break the problem into two components: the links between climate change and migration, and those between migration and conflict.

We found a large range of views regarding the importance of climate change as a driver for increasing rates of migration and subsequently of conflict.

We argue that future research should focus not only on the climate-migration-conflict pathway but also work to understand the other pathways by which climate variability and change might exacerbate conflict.

We conclude by proposing five questions to help guide future research on the link between climate change, migration, and conflict.

Read the paper from Kate Burrows and Patrick L. Kinney from the

Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University in New York - “Exploring the Climate Change, Migration and Conflict Nexus.”

Stiglitz's cure for world economic malaise appears contradictory

-       Robert McLean

Joseph E. Stiglitz.

Joseph E. Stiglitz understands the cause of climate change, or does he?

The American Nobel laureate in economics and University Professor at Columbia University seems to be aware that unbridled capitalism and its push for never-ceasing growth is the root of the world’s troubles, but here he suggests the world’s malaise will be “cured” through an increase in aggregate demand.

His “cure” appears to be contradictory.

However, as the former Chairman of President Bill Clinton’s Council of Economic Advisers and a former Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank, I bow to his unquestioned understanding of world economics.

“The only cure for the world’s malaise is an increase in aggregate demand. Far-reaching redistribution of income would help, as would deep reform of our financial system – not just to prevent it from imposing harm on the rest of us, but also to get banks and other financial institutions to do what they are supposed to do: match long-term savings to long-term investment needs.”

Maybe I misinterpret what he says here in this essay published by “Social Europe” - Why The Great Malaise Of The World Economy Continues In 2016 – but I urge you to read it and arrive at your own conclusions.

Much of what he says makes complete sense, such as “Far-reaching redistribution of income would help, as would deep reform of our financial system” and maybe the increase in “aggregate demand” he discusses is what is needed to escape the “world’s malaise”.

First it was 'sleepwalking into disaster', now it's 'blindly into tragedy'

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oulburn Valley people were warned in the lead-up to the city’s first ever climate change forum that they were “sleepwalking into disaster”.

And now nearly three years later a similar warning comes from the director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, Jeffrey Sachs.

Sachs has written in The Guardian that in separating nature from economics, we now walk blindly into tragedy.

The story - “‘By separating nature from economics, we have walked blindly into tragedy’” – tells readers that economic policy must be combined with climate and technology if we are to stand any chance of saving ourselves.

Pathways toward a sustainable future

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 new research project will develop pathways to achieve sustainable development within a safe and just operating space of a stable planet.

The story - “The World in 2050: Pathways towards a sustainable future” – tell of this exciting project.

It says, “The International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA), the Stockholm Resilience Center at Stockholm University, the Earth Institute at Columbia University, the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), and the Alpbach-Laxenburg Group announced the launch of a new initiative to develop integrated pathways for achieving sustainable development and attain the Sustainable Development Goals, to be agreed by member states of the United Nations in September 2015.”