Does Climate Change Threaten Peace?

By awarding the prize to Gore and the IPCC, the Nobel committee seemed interested in promoting the link between climate change and the threat to peace. Could the unchecked effects of climate change lead to conflicts and civil war within nations, or war between nations? Could a collective effort to save the planet from the harmful consequences of climate change actually promote peaceful cooperation within and between nations? We talk with two scholars who have studied the possible links between climate change and conflict. First we visit with Dan Smith, Secretary General of International-Alert, an independent peace building organization that works in over 20 countries to promote lasting peace and security in communities affected by violent conflict. He’s the author of the report “A Climate of Conflict: The Links Between Climate Change, Peace and War." Later in the program we hear from Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon (Ph.D.) He's written extensively on the links between environmental stress and security. He oversees the Peace and Conflict Studies Department at the University of Toronto. "Our argument is not to say that climate change will cause conflict, but to say that climate change, interacting with other factors – other weaknesses, if you like – in the political, social, economic makeup of a country – can, seriously, increase the risk of armed conflict." ~ Dan Smith, International-Alert, author of A Climate of Conflict: The Links Between Climate Change, Peace and War