Global Partnership to focus on climate change fueled terrorism

As world leaders gather in Glasgow for the UN Climate Change Conference, COP26, a new global partnership has formed to focus on the impact of climate change on terrorism, the group said Tuesday.

The National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START), Pool Re SOLUTIONS, and the International Forum for Terrorism Risk (Re)Insurance Pools (IFTRIP) will work together to produce a series of rapid reports underlining the impact climate change is having on the drivers of terrorism. The reports will look at both the current and contemporary threats, as well as global regional outlooks.

“Climate change will be the most impactful global issue of our time, and because negative outcomes are inevitable, it is critical that we invest now in a dedicated research agenda to help governments, the private sector, and communities to direct resources effectively to treat, transfer or terminate risks,” said Bill Braniff, director of the National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Responses to Terrorism (START). “This study represents a critical and pragmatic contribution focused on implications for human and economic security. In truth, we are already observing violence, criminality, and terrorism brought about directly and indirectly by climate change; this study will therefore serve as a call to action on an urgent issue.”

The outcome-focused research will also provide possible actions and recommendations governments can take to mitigate the risks. The group will present their findings at the next International Forum of Terrorism Risk (Re) Insurance Pools meeting in May 2022, in Washington, D.C.

The group said climate change and terrorism appear to interact in three ways – as an indirect contributor; as an ideological driver; and as a tool to control populations. Terrorism poses significant implications, the group said, for the insurance industry, governments, and others interested in the issue of resilience. Organizers hope the study will provide data and analytics to define and measure the likely impacts of climate change on terrorism.