Climate Change Adaptation, Social Entrepreneurship and Peacebuilding
In 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released four reports. To prepare these reports, thousands of scientists from around the world pored over all of the peer-reviewed research conducted since 2001, when the last assessment was published. The scientists synthesized the findings of this complex literature, and presented them to the world with careful estimates of how much certainty we can attach to each claim. Commentators are in wide agreement that these reports are extremely well done-they tell us exactly what scientists are discovering about human impact on the planet's climate system.
What they are discovering is that climate change-or global warming-is significantly the result of people burning vast quantities of fossil fuels. Fossil fuels create greenhouse gases. These trap solar heat in the earth's atmosphere. The oceans warm up. The land warms up. Glaciers melt. Polar ice melts. Big changes start to take place across the earth's surface. Climate change scientists are not surprised by any of this. They have been sounding louder and louder alarms since the first IPCC report was published in 1990. What surprises scientists the most, is that we have done so little in the past two decades to mitigate our impact on the global climate system.
Our research explores the security implications of climate change as well as the potential for social entrepreneurship to support peacebuilding and adaptation activities.
Related Publications and Activities
Climate Change, Conflict and Peacebuilding
On February 9, 2011 Dr. Richard A. Matthew presented on Climate Change, Conflict and Peacebuilding for the Earth Systems Science Department. For more information on this event visit: http://www.ess.uci.edu/events/2011-02-09
Peacebuilding and Climate Change Adaptation
An article on "Peacebuilding and Climate Change Adaptation" by Anne Hammill and Richard Matthew has been published as part of a special issue of St Antony's International Review (STAIR) on "New Directions in Climate Change Politics." Torney, Diarmuid and Annika Greup, eds. 2010. "New Directions in Climate Change Politics," special issue of St Antony's International Review (STAIR) (vol. 5, no. 2, February 2010). Features contributions from Robert O. Keohane, Jonathan Gaventa, Michael MacLeod, Frances C. Moore, Anne Hammill & Richard Matthew, David Benson & Andrew Jordan, and Christopher W. Boerl. More information.
Sustainable development and climate change
Richard Matthew and Anne Hammill. "Sustainable development and climate change." International Affairs Vol. 85 No. 6 (2009): 1117-1128.
Research on microfinance and technology
Crystal Murphy Morgan will present results of her research on microfinance and technology at the Institute for Money, Technology & Financial Inclusion (IMTFI)'s First Annual Conference for Funded Researchers on November 5, 2009.
Climate Change Adaptation and Peacebuilding
Richard Matthew and Anne Hammill were invited to present research on "Climate Change Adaptation and Peacebuilding" to the Global Environmental Change and Human Security Convention in Oslo, Norway on June 22, 2009.
CUSA participates in dialogue on energy security
CUSA Director Richard Matthew joined 25 leaders from academia, government, and the private sector for a workshop on energy policy and the need to balance national security, environmental sustainability, and economic prosperity goals. This workshop was hosted by Sandia National Laboratories and the University of California, San Diego's Sustainability Solutions Institute. Read more about this event.
Climate Change and Security
Richard Matthew was invited to present on "Climate Change and Security,"at the Mansfield Center, Montana in October 2009.
Global Climate Change: National Security Implications
CUSA Director Richard Matthew's presentation at a colloquium on "Global Climate Change: National Security Implications"sponsored by the Strategic Studies Institute and the Triangle Institute for Security Studies is now available in Global Climate Change National Security Implications. Carolyn Pumphrey, ed. (Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College, 2008).
Microfinance and Climate Change Adaptation
A new article on "Microfinance and Climate Change Adaptation," appears in the current issue of the Institute of Development Studies Bulletin. This article by Anne Hammill, Richard Matthew and Elissa McCarter explores potentials ways to link microfinance services with climate change adaptation efforts.