Welcome!
The Secretary-General has called climate change “the defining issue of our time.” The average global temperature is increasing, causing more severe and frequent extreme weather events as well as slow-onset phenomena. This affects the lives and livelihoods of people in all corners of the globe. Particularly in conflict affected settings, the impacts of climate change can compound economic, social or political drivers of insecurity, leaving already vulnerable populations on the frontlines of multiple, intersecting crises. Therefore, the effects of climate change have become an issue of growing significance for UN field missions.
Since 2017, the Security Council has acknowledged the adverse impact of climate change, natural disasters and weather phenomena on stability in the mandates of seven field-based special political missions (SPMs) and five peacekeeping operations (PKOs), frequently highlighting the importance of risk assessments and risk management strategies.
In this context, this self-paced, online course unpacks the interlinkages between climate change, peace and security and explores opportunities for addressing climate-related security risks in the work of UN field missions. It provides foundational knowledge as part of a broader capacity building programme targeting SPMs and PKOs.