The Elephant in the Climate Room: Financing Sustainable Security and Supporting Future-Fit Systems

The authors call for a transformation of the international financial architecture during the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings to better support climate adaptation and resilience in fragile contexts. They argue that failing to improve access to finance for climate-vulnerable nations threatens global security by exacerbating risks such as irregular migration and political instability.

• Current international development finance efforts are insufficient to meet the costs of the green transition, especially for global climate adaptation, mitigation, and resilience in fragile, conflict-affected, and violent (FCV) situations.
• Climate adaptation and resilience investments are critical for security, as they can mitigate risks such as food insecurity, irregular migration, political instability, and the recruitment of individuals by non-state actors following climate shocks.
• To avoid global instability, international financial institutions (IFIs) and multilateral development banks (MDBs) must reform outdated processes, increase finance access for vulnerable nations, and demonstrate the viability of investing in fragile contexts.

APA

Cicarelli, S., Sikorsky, E., & Werz, M. (2024). The Elephant in the Climate Room: Financing Sustainable Security and Supporting Future-Fit Systems. The Council on Strategic Risks. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/04/15/the-elephant-in-the-climate-room-financing-sustainable-security-and-supporting-future-fit-systems/

Chicago

Cicarelli, Siena, Erin Sikorsky, and Michael Werz. The Elephant in the Climate Room: Financing Sustainable Security and Supporting Future-Fit Systems. The Council on Strategic Risks, 2024. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/04/15/the-elephant-in-the-climate-room-financing-sustainable-security-and-supporting-future-fit-systems/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Cicarelli |first1=Siena |last2=Sikorsky |first2=Erin |last3=Werz |first3=Michael |title=The Elephant in the Climate Room: Financing Sustainable Security and Supporting Future-Fit Systems |publisher=The Council on Strategic Risks |date=15 April 2024 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/04/15/the-elephant-in-the-climate-room-financing-sustainable-security-and-supporting-future-fit-systems/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{cicarelli2024elephant, author = {Cicarelli, Siena and Sikorsky, Erin and Werz, Michael}, title = {{The Elephant in the Climate Room: Financing Sustainable Security and Supporting Future-Fit Systems}}, publisher = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2024}, month = apr, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2024/04/15/the-elephant-in-the-climate-room-financing-sustainable-security-and-supporting-future-fit-systems/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }