Climate Change and Geopolitics

As the COP26 UN Climate Change Conference approached its conclusion in Glasgow, Scotland, Perry World House released a series of thought pieces from our June 2021 workshop, Climate Change and Geopolitics.

As the physical impacts of climate change grow more evident and more severe around the world, it is increasingly apparent that it will also transform international relations, international security, and geopolitics. On the one hand, experts in these fields lack clear principles to guide their thinking on climate change. On the other hand, those working in climate and energy policy also need to take greater account of great power competition.

In summer 2021, we convened a diverse group of scholars and policymakers to discuss how to bridge this crucial gap. The workshop explored both theoretical and practical questions, such as how to reconcile the need for collective international action on climate change with growing strategic rivalry between the United States and China.

Click here to read a blog post published this summer by Scott Moore, Director of China Programs and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Pennsylvania, synthesizing the workshop findings

To accompany the blog, we've also released a series of thought pieces from the experts who attended the workshop, sharing their ideas on how to close gaps on climate change in policy planning and scholarly research.

    Implications of Climate Change for the International Order: Non-State Actors, International Trade, Migration

    Geopolitical and Security Dimensions of Climate Change: China, Transatlantic Relations, Gulf States, and International Organizations

    Reactions from Policymakers

    This workshop was organized with support from Carnegie Corporation of New York.