Environment and Society Centre
Chatham House | 2026-02-22 | energy
Topics: Climate
Visit original source
ThinkTankWeekly provides a curated entry and summary only. Full text and PDF remain on the publisher's website.
English Summary
Chatham House’s Environment and Society Centre argues that environmental challenges are systemic drivers of both global geopolitics and local societal risk, requiring integrated policy responses. Its reasoning is based on independent, multidisciplinary research that links climate change and resource depletion to security, economic, and community resilience outcomes, while convening cross-sector expertise to test policy-relevant ideas. The centre prioritizes three action areas: climate and energy transition, sustainable food/land/resource systems, and financing accelerated sustainability transitions. Through its Sustainability Accelerator, it also promotes experimental, innovation-oriented policymaking to move beyond incremental change. For policymakers and strategists, the implication is to adopt cross-sector, evidence-based, and finance-backed transition strategies that pair mitigation with adaptation and resilience-building.
中文摘要
英國皇家國際事務研究所（Chatham House）環境與社會中心主張，環境挑戰是驅動全球地緣政治與在地社會風險的系統性因素，因而需要整合式政策回應。其論證建立在獨立且跨學科的研究基礎上，將氣候變遷與資源耗竭連結至安全、經濟與社區韌性等結果，並透過召集跨部門專業共同檢驗具政策相關性的構想。該中心優先推動三大行動領域：氣候與能源轉型、永續的糧食／土地／資源系統，以及為加速永續轉型提供融資。透過其「永續加速器」（Sustainability Accelerator），中心亦倡議以實驗性、創新導向的政策制定方式，突破漸進式變革。對政策制定者與策略規劃者而言，其意涵在於採取跨部門、以證據為基礎、並有金融支持的轉型策略，將減緩措施與調適及韌性建構相結合。
Related Entries
-
1.
The Chatham House report argues that climate change represents Europe's greatest systemic security threat, citing recent extreme heatwaves, droughts, and wildfires that have caused massive economic losses, infrastructure failures, and excess deaths. These environmental shocks disrupt critical services (like energy supply) and increase vulnerability to non-conventional threats, forcing military resources to divert personnel away from traditional defense roles. To counter this, the report mandates a comprehensive security approach: treating climate adaptation as core national security spending, accelerating decarbonization to address root causes, and building robust societal resilience through coordinated civil preparedness.
Read at Chatham House
-
2.
The Chatham House analysis argues that for Zambia to sustain its economic reforms and attract vital foreign investment, President Hichilema must prioritize preserving democratic institutions during the upcoming election. While macroeconomic stabilization has restored international confidence, political legitimacy hinges on a credible electoral process, as voters are yet to feel the benefits of abstract financial rehabilitation. Consequently, international allies are advised to act as 'critical friends,' ensuring that their support for economic stability is consistently coupled with demands for institutional integrity and democratic restraint. This balanced approach is vital to prevent authoritarian drift from undermining Zambia's foundational political capital.
Read at Chatham House
-
3.
The widespread operational embedding of AI in global supply chains creates significant systemic dependencies on shared digital infrastructure, raising novel aggregation risks for the insurance market. These risks are not limited to model failure but stem from common vulnerabilities—such as shared cloud platforms or flawed models—that could simultaneously impact multiple seemingly independent firms. Policy implications require both operators and insurers to shift focus toward managing these interconnected weaknesses by establishing robust controls, including mandatory human oversight, detailed audit trails, and staged deployments. Insurers must update underwriting practices to map systemic technology dependencies across policyholders rather than treating AI exposure as a standalone risk.
Read at RAND
-
4.
Iraq faces an existential test of state sovereignty and reform as it navigates intense regional instability. Key pressures include armed attacks from Iran-aligned groups, renewed questions about the state's monopoly on force due to external strikes, and severe economic strain stemming from oil market disruptions. The core challenge is managing escalating geopolitical competition between Washington and Tehran while simultaneously advancing institutional reforms necessary for economic diversification. International support must therefore focus not only on security stabilization but also on supporting Baghdad’s efforts to build a resilient, independent course away from volatile energy dependence.
Read at Chatham House
-
5.
The Chatham House analysis finds that recent negotiations between Venezuela's government and opposition are highly unlikely to succeed, citing a pattern of vague discussions and lack of concrete commitments. Key evidence includes the failure of multiple meetings to establish timelines or progress on critical issues like the release of political prisoners. The report suggests that external actors, particularly the US, may be prioritizing maintaining an illusion of stability (the 'Venezuela model') over forcing genuine democratic change. Consequently, policy efforts must recognize that success hinges entirely on Washington's willingness to apply strong, enforced leverage and detailed commitments, rather than merely facilitating another round of ill-defined dialogue.
Read at Chatham House