Climate change, hydroconflicts and human security: achievements of and gaps in current policies

Both politicians and scientists have called climate change a conflict trigger or multiplier. Climate change is seen as a key driver for the ecological crisis behind the current conflict in Sudan’s Darfur region, with UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon affirming that “amid the diverse social and political causes, the Darfur conflict began as an ecological crisis, arising at least in part from climate change.”However empirically‐based research on the relationship between climate change, resource scarcity and conflict is often absent. The new EU project “Climate Change, Hydro‐conflicts and Human Security” (CLICO) will address this research gap. This policy brief presents CLICO’s research agenda regarding policy responses to climate change‐induced hydro‐conflicts. This policy brief is the first in a series of briefs presenting results of the CLICO project.