Chloé Duprat Frias
Environmental Science, Social Sciences and Public Policy, SciencesPo Paris
Introduction
“When you lose all hope and fear, then you become something not quite human.”
(Robinson-2020, p. 145).
In his novel The Ministry of the Future, American author Kim Stanley Robinson introduces his reader to the intricacies of global warming through a fascinating mix of fiction and non-fiction. His words depict the terror experienced by survivors of climate disasters, as well as the consequences of climate injustice, both sources of anger instigating extreme responses like eco-terrorism.
Although the link between violent action and climate inaction has not yet been thoroughly documented, a growing body of research confirms the causal relationship between frequent environmental disasters and conflicts across the globe. Indeed, according to the OECD (2003), as the environmental crisis intensifies, more frequent droughts, floods, and extreme weather events augment food scarcity and housing insecurity in the world’s poorest countries. Climate variability contributes increasingly to human migration and displacement: climate-induced disasters currently displace more than 20 million people annually (Gaudry Haynie et al., 2021). This, in turn, leads to tensions between nations, and an escalation of violence within them.
Conflicts arise from the unsustainable use of natural resources, environmental degradation, and the consequences of natural disasters fueled by the warming climate (UNEP, 2009). Additionally, gender studies and climate specialists have highlighted a troubling relationship between global warming and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), encompassing elements such as sexual aggression, coercion, physical violence, intimate partner violence (IPV), or domestic violence (UN Refugees Agency, 2016). Violent climate action is also emerging, with some activists considering "violence against violence" to combat the crisis (Amster, 2006). In this way, global warming acts as a “threat multiplier,” as acknowledged by national and international reports (IPCC, 2014, DOD, 2015). We may thus wonder: can the lack of climate policy action be considered a causal link to rising violence? To what extent is violence fueled by our unsustainable ways?
To find answers to the complex relationship between climate change, gender and violence, this research article will condense the existing literature to tackle three facets of climate-induced violence. Section One examines the emergence of new complex wars, and Section Two discusses the increase of sexual abuse and trafficking of women, leading to an analysis of the development of ecoterrorist movements to fight climate inaction in the final section.
Interlinked Crises: The Emergence of Climate-Induced Conflict
Research increasingly links climate change to conflict (Homer-Dixon, 1999). Africa and Asia are disproportionately impacted by climate-induced wars. For example, findings during the 1993-2003 period in Indonesia indicated that a rise in the minimum temperature during the heart of the rice-growing season in December anticipates a rise in violence (Caruso et al. 2016). Rice is a staple crop in the country, but studies show that a 1-ton rise in paddy production per capita corresponds to a reduction of 1.174 violent incidents, therefore a decrease in future rice production could have considerable consequences for Indonesians (Caruso et al. 2016). Scholars also found strong correlations between civil war and rising temperatures in Africa. Warmer years were paralleled with increased conflict; models suggest a 1 °C temperature rise corresponds to a 4.5 percent increase in civil war in the same year and a 0.9 percent increase in conflict incidence the following year (Burke et al., 2009).
An important implication of climate change is the increased scarcity of resources and fertile land, which may lead to competition over food and water security or conflict for agricultural production."
Chloé Duprat Frias
Environmental Science, Social Sciences and Public Policy Student, SciencesPo Paris
Globally, the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) estimated that the exploitation of natural resources, namely scarce resources like fertile land and water, has been linked to 40 percent of all internal conflicts over the last 60 years (UNEP, 2022). Moreover, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), there is evidence that variations in rainfall patterns intensify existing tensions, particularly between communities, ethnic groups, or nations already prone to conflict. Syria illustrates well this case, as its arid climate is thought to have contributed to the country’s civil war, (IPCC, 2023). Since the Arab Spring, the Middle Eastern country has been entangled in an armed struggle for freedom, opposing rebel forces to Bashar al-Assad’s rule. Other than the fight for democracy, scholars now argue that climate change–and more specifically lack of rainfall–was an overlooked factor fuelling the 2011 insurrection in Syria. Various data collections in the country showed that precipitation decreased by 11 percent in winter and 8 percent in the spring between 1961 and 1990. While other countries in the region also experience this crisis, Syria’s case is the gravest: in certain parts of the nation, precipitation has decreased by 50 percent between 2007 and 2008 (Smiatek et al., 2013). This is concerning because the area depends heavily on rainfall to supply the water required for food production. Attributed to global warming, these significant alterations in the local climate have caused large losses for the Syrian agricultural industry. The difficulty in growing crops has resulted in a dramatic augmentation of food prices, creating hunger, especially in impoverished people, and thus heightening the uprising against the Bashar al-Assad government. Rising temperatures and decreased precipitation caused desertification and agricultural land destruction, particularly in eastern Syria. Approximately 800,000 people lost their jobs as a result, and 85 percent of the nation's livestock perished (Gleick, 2014). As farmers abandoned their villages to find sources of income in Syria’s major cities, they were rapidly flooded with rebel propaganda. This reinforced the farmers high disapproval of the Assad regime and led many farmers to join the rebels (Gleick, 2014).
Described by previous U.N. Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, as the “first climate change conflict,” South Sudan is a prime example of the way that environmental issues may translate into violence (Popovski, 2017). The origins of this war are complex and multifaceted, a major source of conflict being attributed to climate-induced disasters such as droughts and floods. Impacted by climate change, South Sudan witnessed a drop in annual median rainfall of 15 to 30 percent (WFP, 2020). As a result, desertification transformed the Sahel region of northern Sudan into unpracticable land as the Sahara Desert grew southward for up to a mile per year (WFP, 2020). The country has consequently been facing famine since 2017, the combination of these trends disrupting livelihoods, exacerbating local conflicts between communal groups, namely nomadic herders and sedentary farmers. The country has historically been divided between two agricultural systems: farmers and nomadic pastoralists. The deterioration of environmental conditions and frequent exposure to droughts has eroded the peaceful coexistence of these communal groups, through fights for livestock and access to water and grazing land (UNEP, 2022).
The combined effects of the civil war and drought have caused a dire humanitarian crisis and threatened peace in South-Sudan as almost 5 million people, or more than 40 percent of the country’s population, are fighting against food insecurity (UNEP, 2022). A new concern is the risk of a positive feedback loop, as the consequences of the conflict may further undermine communities’ resilience to climate change, limit access to finance that would enable climate-resilient livelihoods and weaken the natural resource governance structures.” (UNEP, 2022).
However, war experts caution against attributing conflicts solely to climate change. In Syria, temperatures were just one contributing factor to the war in an area already marked by significant pre-existing tensions (Eklund et al., 2022; Selby et al., 2017). Similarly, the use of Kenya as a climate change-induced conflict example has been challenged, as low rainfall years often have a peaceful effect. Research suggests that intergroup violence is primarily motivated by political aspirations and calculations, added to resource competition caused by climate change (Theisen, 2012).
Climate Change and Gender-Based Violence
The term "gender" describes the socially constructed behaviors, norms, and attitudes that define what it means to be male and female in various cultural contexts (Connell, 2002). It is shaped by interactions between men and women and influenced by social, cultural, historical, and contextual factors, such as climate change.
Past climate research focused on the scientific analysis of rising temperatures to develop methodical and technological solutions. As a result, its social and gendered effects have received far less attention."
Chloé Duprat Frias
Environmental Science, Social Sciences and Public Policy Student, SciencesPo Paris
However, scientists have found that climate impacts disproportionately the world's poorest citizens, the bulk of whom are women (UN Women Data Hub, 2022). In fact, in areas as diverse as Australia, Canada, Africa, Asia, and Europe, there is emerging evidence that climate change impacts women more than men: they are for example 14 times more likely to die from a catastrophic climate event (Alston, 2013). Hence, the disparate effects of climate change are emerging as a novel catalyst for gender-based violence.
Women across the world, particularly in the Global South, face significant disadvantages and have less access and control over essential resources. Despite making up a third of the global workforce in the agricultural sector, they only represent 12.6 percent of landowners globally (FAO, 2023). Due to this, women only receive 10% of all aid for fishing, forestry, and agriculture (FAO, 2023). This lack of ownership leads to diminished access to vital information about weather events, cropping patterns, and adaptation technologies. Additionally, women often lack agency in the different spheres of society, whether at the family scale or the local, federal, and international scale (UNEP, 2011). According to the European Agency for Fundamental Rights, this culture of gender asymmetry would be at the root of gender violence. Statistics show that women experience higher rates of violence compared to men in most countries, including developed ones (Castañeda Camey et al., 2020). Approximately 30 percent of women worldwide have experienced some form of physical or sexual violence (Trabold et al., 2020).
Parallel to existing patterns of discrimination, climate change disproportionately affects women. When food scarcity arises due to droughts, child marriage increases as families seek additional sources of income. Globally, about 12 million young girls have been married off due to the increased natural disasters that compromise crops on which communities rely (Janjua, 2023). Often, women’s confinement to household work limits their education attainment and access to life-saving skills such as swimming or tree climbing, making them more vulnerable to floods than men (UNEP, 2011). Finally, cultural dress codes that promote longer and impractical clothing further hinder women's mobility during crises (UNEP, 2011).
Furthermore, climate-induced disasters exacerbate domestic and sexual violence (Desai and Mandal, 2021). In 2020, CARE International’s report stated, “All forms of gender-based violence against women and girls spike during disaster and conflict” as “climate extremes exacerbate existing inequalities, vulnerabilities, and negative gender norms.” (Desai and Mandal, 2021). Several studies have documented the relationship between extreme weather events such as hurricanes and floods and increased sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV). SGBV is an umbrella term depicting any harmful act or threat against a person or group because of their biological sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, or failure to conform to different socially constructed standards of masculinity or femininity (Desai and Mandal, 2021). Its foundations are power disparities, patriarchy, and systemic gender inequality. The use of physical, psychological, sexual, economic, legal, political, social, and other forms of abuse or control, or the threat of such, are common characteristics of gender-based violence (Desai and Mandal, 2021).
In many developing countries, the traditional gender division of labor results in women being primarily responsible for gathering and transporting drinking water and fuel wood for daily survival. As climate change makes these natural resources increasingly scarce, women are then forced to travel longer distances, increasing their exposure to rape or kidnapping. (Crowley, 2011). Furthermore, studies are linking environmental issues to increased organized trafficking of women. (Alston, 2013) The United Nations defines trafficking as “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force [...] or the purpose of exploitation” (Protocol to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, 2000). Climate augments the frequency of disasters like floods, droughts, or famines, which undermine women’s local security safety nets. The climate-induced loss of livelihoods and depletion of productive assets cause men to migrate in search of alternative income opportunities. This leaves women and children alone, separated from one another, or orphaned. Consequently, human traffickers exploit women through violent means, forcing them into prostitution, marriage, labor, or participating in illicit organ trade (Hodge and Lietz, 2007). Every year in Nepal, between 12,000 and 20,000 women and children are thought to be kidnapped or tricked into forced labor (about 30%) and sex work (about 70 percent) (UNEP, 2011).
In 2011, a collaborative study by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), and the Centre for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO) found that disasters in South Asia, particularly in Nepal, have increased the trafficking of women and girls. While data on human trafficking is largely composed of estimations (because of the criminal nature of this activity) projections suggest that 2 to 4 million persons are trafficked every year within countries, and up to another 800,000 across borders, women accounting for 70% to 80% of this figure (Crowley, 2011).
Despite mounting evidence of the gendered consequences of climate change, little political attention is given to the subject. In fact, according to Desai and Mandal’s study of climate law, there is no international legal framework that addresses SGBV against women during and after climate change-related disasters.
There is little evidence that adaptation efforts, policies, funding, or institutions effectively target women."
Chloé Duprat Frias
Environmental Science, Social Sciences and Public Policy Student, SciencesPo Paris
Moreover, procedures and negotiations on climate change adaptation rarely include the perspectives of economically disadvantaged women from the Global South (Alston, 2013). The subject was briefly mentioned during the Conferences of the Parties, but there remains a lack of emphasis on gender issues in major climate change treaties, including the 1992 UNFCCC, the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, and the 2015 Paris Agreement (Desai and Mandal, 2021).
Furthermore, women are largely underrepresented in policy and decision-making institutions. The share of women leaders or members of national delegations in the COP process is particularly unsettling as it ranges from 15 percent to 25 percent female members across all nations (Alston, 2013). This lack of women representation implies that in international negotiations, the importance of women's experiences might not be fully acknowledged. Thus, gender has emerged as a significant factor in determining vulnerability to climate- and landscape-related disasters, as it increases SGBV, a major source of psychological and bodily violence for women.
Violence as a Means for Sustainability: Ecoterrorism
In his 1849 essay, Henry David Thoreau theorized the intricacies of civil disobedience, otherwise described as peaceful non-cooperation and the right to disobey an unjust government. According to his thinking, individuals must oppose the state and legal system when they are prejudiced or flout principles such as freedom and human rights (Thoreau, 1849).
Though his thinking was strongly based on a defense for non-violence (Nelson, 1962), Thoreau’s arguments are often mobilized by partisans of a more radical climate movement. As more and more citizens consider that politics and international governments have failed in their efforts to mitigate the climate crisis, activists wonder: could violence help the cause? Some climate activists have drifted to violent action in reaction to a legal and political system allowing for unpunished crimes against nature and ecosystems (Amster, 2006). An example of this is the tree spiking largely used by members of Earth First!, However, ecoterrorism is widely criticized for the loss of lives and is accused of driving people away from the climate cause.
A first argument put forward by theorists is that violence is highly unpopular and would result in alienating supporters of the cause and lessening a movement's chances of success (White et al. 2015, Orazani et al.,2019). This type of thinking can be based on moral pacifism, or the belief that any type of violence is inherently wrong. It can also be rooted in pragmatic pacifism, according to which having movements appear more reasonable and inclusive might garner more support from the general public (Howes, 2013). Secondly, scholars argue that successful popular movements have used nonviolent tactics, including the US civil rights movement, the fight to abolish slavery, the fight to end Apartheid in South Africa, and the campaign to grant women the right to vote in the UK (Orazani et al.,2019 and Malm, 2021). Additionally, the development of new technologies such as drones have allowed for advances in asymmetric warfare, allowing for easier destruction of pipelines for example.
According to the Swedish Lund University professor Andreas Malm, this argument has numerous limitations. In his work titled “How to Blow Up a Pipeline” (2021), he is surprised by the relatively peaceful response to climate change. He questions the effectiveness of peaceful protests in addressing the urgent injustices of climate change, particularly its disproportionate impact on marginalized communities (World Bank, 2023). He also mentions that violent action can easily be implemented, in so far as there are a multitude of available and easily damageable targets. He gives the example of keying yachts and deflating SUVs: simple disruptive protests which might in fact be highly efficient.
Malm challenges the rationale behind peaceful protests. He argues that historical uprisings were, in fact, much less peaceful than what pacifists suggest. For example, the abolition of slavery, succeeded in part because of the Civil War in the United States, and through an armed revolution in Haiti. As for Apartheid, sabotage was used by Nelson Mandela as a crucial tactic when it became apparent that nonviolent protest would not be sufficient. Finally, the suffragettes smashed windows and used arson in order to bring their cause forward. While these actions were quite disapproved of by the public, these cases might prove the efficiency of violence. He notes that destroying property, and not life, might allow for more public attention to the urgent realities of the climate crisis. Dismissing the extremes of eco-terrorism, Malm concludes that while violence should not involve loss of life, it is essential, if not necessary, to ensure the success of movements against anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions.
Accordingly, 2022 was a year marked by increasingly dissident forms of action to create media attention around global warming."
Chloé Duprat Frias
Environmental Science, Social Sciences and Public Policy Student, SciencesPo Paris
Activists deflated thousands of SUV tires, stuck themselves to the runways of airports and threw paint or tomato soup at priceless museum artworks such as Van Gogh’s famous Sunflowers (Kinyon et al., 2023).
Conclusion
There appears to be a compelling correlation between increased violence and climate change around the world. For countries most impacted by global warming, studies have established a strong link between higher temperatures and civil wars. The gender-specific ramifications of environmental catastrophes, though previously overlooked, are now studied by scholars and brought to the eyes of international organizations. As current trajectories show that the global community is still not being ambitious enough, some activists have drifted into vandalism, civil disobedience or even ecoterrorism. Moving forward, there is an urgent need to pivot towards the construction of a sustainable world, offering a pathway to mitigate these alarming trends. Indeed, climate change takes the shape of what environmental scientists call “positive feedback loops”, a notion which we commonly refer to as vicious cycles: as the curve of rising temperatures will not ease with time, nor will its multiplier effect on violence, which is why it is crucial to act now (Buhaug et al., 2021).
Moving forward, there is an urgent need to pivot towards the construction of a sustainable world, offering a pathway to mitigate these alarming trends. In this regard, it is important to prioritize both environmental sustainability and gender equity. Investing in women's education and empowerment, particularly in regions most vulnerable to climate change, can lead to more resilient communities better equipped to mitigate and adapt to environmental challenges. This also includes investing in women's empowerment and leadership, as research shows that women's participation in decision-making processes leads to more sustainable and equitable outcomes (Gloor et al., 2022). Additionally, international cooperation and diplomacy need to address the root causes of conflicts exacerbated by climate change. Experts from various domains (e.g., Schweiger and Pataczek, 2023; Fisher and Rucki, 2017; Babcicky, 2013) recommend promotion of sustainable practices to mitigate conflicts. These include investing in renewable energy sources, finance sustainable agriculture especially in developing and less developed countries where climate induced wars are dominant.
Perhaps, the time for change has arrived.
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