By Lucy St John
Picture taken from https://daily.jstor.org/climate-change-and-syrias-civil-war/
This photo of dried out land depicts a drought, which will be causing severe social, economic, and developmental issues, which begs the question; can droughts and other natural disasters be defined as violence? It may appear that a drought cannot be constituted as violence; it is not an intended act by any person, which is what many definitions of violence include. For example, in 2002 the WHO defined violence as:
the intentional use of physical force or power, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation (WHO, 2002, World Report on Violence & Health)
Looking at violence through the lens of just physicality raises several concerns. For example, is emotional abuse not a form of violence? Yet this features no physical force. Definitions of violence are difficult, if not impossible, to encompass unique and context-specific issues that many might deem to be violent. Understanding violence requires looking at specific case studies through a multitude of lenses and perspectives and because of this it is difficult to define it with a ‘one size fits all’ approach.
I want to discuss how inaction against climate change does not only lead to violence but is itself a form of violence. My aim is to show how general inaction on climate change by governments exacerbates already vulnerable situations, and this is a form of violence. I aim to do this by pointing out that natural disasters are occurring more frequently at greater intensities; I will then briefly discuss an example of how droughts can exacerbate violent conflict, and how inaction from global governments will only lead to more climate change exacerbated violence.
Amid a global crisis of climate change, can natural disasters still be said to be completely natural? According to a study by the UN, extreme weather events have increased dramatically over the last 20 years. Natural disasters have increased in intensity and frequency due to climate change with many studies finding that extreme weather events are highly likely to be caused by human action. (For example a study done by the CSSR). Another study has shown that droughts have increased since greenhouse gas emissions have increased, which gives strong grounds to argue for a “detectable human influence” (Foderaro 2019).
The effects of these ecological disasters have a huge impact on humanity. Natural disasters not only affect the current climate but can also increase existing tensions. One example of this is the Syrian Civil War. I am not implying that a drought directly caused the war, however, there is evidence (albeit contested) to suggest that the drought was a final tipping point that advanced it. Political factors were the central reasons for the revolution against the government, however, to say that inaction by the governments on the effects of the drought – such as starvation, job loss and displacement – were not contributing factors towards the rebels unrest, would be disregarding an important understanding of the implications of the drought on Syria. To reiterate this, in July 2008 the Syrian Minister of Agriculture stated publicly to UN officials that the economic and social fallout from the drought was ‘‘beyond our capacity as a country to deal with,’’ making it explicit that the drought had effects on the country’s infrastructure (Gleick 2014: 334).
This example of conflict in Syria being exacerbated by a drought and the inaction of the government to deal with the effects that this had on the country effectively shows that political inaction following a climactic disaster can lead to violence. However, I am also arguing that political inaction against climate change specifically, not just inaction on the effects of climate change, is a form of violence.
Since climate change is a global issue, it needs a global effort to tackle it. Inaction when there is knowledge of the causes and effects, and knowledge and resources for solutions to prevent or diminish climate change, I believe is morally indefensible. Governments have access to the information about what climate change is causing, including thousands of deaths per year. If there is a way to prevent these deaths, then that is the moral standpoint from which to act. Furthermore, for many states climate change is a huge security risk, and therefore action against climate change would diminish these risks by diminishing the impact of climate change.
If we look back to the definition of violence provided by WHO, I believe it can be adapted to this context of inaction by stating that violence is the “intentional inaction of those in power to prevent damage, threatened or actual, against oneself, another person, or against a group or community, that either results in or has a high likelihood of resulting in injury, death, psychological harm, maldevelopment or deprivation”. Governments’ informed and deliberate inaction can be interpreted as violence due to what their inaction against climate change could or will result in.
A prime example of political inaction is that of Trump denying the existence of climate change. As a leading world power this denial doesn’t just affect the US, but the whole world. Also, despite a united global attempt to combat climate change with the Paris Agreement in 2015 from 136 countries, very few countries are on track to meet their targets to keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius. There are massive inconsistencies with what governments promise and what they action. For example, in 2019 the UK announced a climate emergency, only to then approve a third runway at Heathrow airport. Although this decision has been overturned, it exemplifies how governments are not prioritising aims to meet climate targets. Inaction from governments will only allow practices, such as fossil fuel extraction or deforestation, that are leading causes of climate change, to continue. If these practices continue then temperatures will continue to rise, and natural disasters will continue to increase. Violence and conflict will therefore continue.
Despite the definition of violence being ambiguous, I have shown why inaction against climate change is a form of violence. Allowing humanity to continue down the destructive path it is going, harming the biodiversity and ecosystems of our planet, which will inevitably lead to humanity’s extinction by not taking drastic actions, can be constituted as a form of violence.
Bibliography
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Foderaro, L. 2019 ‘Climate change has contributed to droughts since 1900—and may get worse’, National Geographic, 1st May. Available at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/05/climate-change-linked-drought-past-century-via-tree-rings/ (Accessed 22nd November 2020)
Gleick, P. H., (2014): Water, Drought, Climate Change, and Conflict in Syria. Wea. Climate Soc., 6, 331–340, https://doi.org/10.1175/WCAS-D-13-00059.1
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https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/10/natural-disasters-tsunamis-droughts-floods/ (Accessed 22nd November 2020)
United Nations Security Council. 2020, Climate Change Exacerbates Existing Conflict Risks, Likely to Create New Ones, Assistant Secretary-General Warns Security Council, https://www.un.org/press/en/2020/sc14260.doc.htm (Accessed 23rd November 2020)
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