The responsibility to prepare and prevent – A new climate security governance framework

This paper documents the combination of unprecedented risks and unprecedented foresight which the foundation for a Responsibility to Prepare and Prevent – a framework for managing climate security risks. The framework is concerned with what we know about climate security risks, what gaps exist in governing these risks, and how to close this global governance gap. The main climate security governance gaps identified in this paper are:

Gap 1: The Right Information. There is currently no standardized global hub for climate security information to inform coherent international policy actions to address climate security risks, and a lack of accepted future projections in a field dominated by forensic analysis.

Gap 2: The Right People. Addressing climate security risks is hampered by a gap between climate change messengers and the security audiences needed to take actions to address climate security risks, as well as a lack of institutionalized leadership on the issue within the global security community.

Gap 3: The Right Time. There are currently no global governance mechanisms for aligning international climate policy actions with international actions to address climate security risks.