Last month the UN Security Council requested that the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon incorporates climate change projections in his reports on global trouble-spots. The endorsement of climate change as a security threat came despite the resistance of some council members, such as Russia, to adopt a strong language.

Now, as this agenda unfolds over the next decade, the key question is: will it lead to the greater militarisation over dwindling resources, food shortages, droughts and floods — or to greater cooperation among people and nations in climate adaptation and the management of resources? More…