News, Report | February 2025
A traditional boat used in Xochimilco is burned during a protest in the historical of centre of Mexico City.
Luis Antonio Rojas/Panos Pictures
As the climate emergency escalates, so are efforts to securitize climate change. Supported by Civic Futures, this report by Iavor Rangelov & Marika Theros, of the Conflict and Civicness Research Group at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), highlights the growing trend of framing the climate crisis as a ‘climate security’ issue. It is a reminder that the “seductive attractiveness” of “climate security and climate emergency as a frame” could exacerbate the climate crisis, instead of solving it.
Security language in relation to the climate crisis is currently used mostly by climate activists, with the intention of raising the urgency and importance of the climate crisis. But there’s a risk that this framing is taken on by powerful forces to entrench authoritarian practices and justify harsh security measures which abuse human rights.
More than just a warning to reflect on the language we adopt, the report is an invitation to engage deeply with the potential ways that securitization could take hold, and to find creative ways to disrupt that process.
You can read the full report here.