In Uganda, climate change is leading to longer dry seasons, lowering crop yields and threatening the livelihoods of farmers and pastoralists. A surge in violent cattle rustling at the height of planting season exacerbated the situation. Now competition over increasingly limited natural resources could potentially lead to more conflict.
The government of newly elected Colombian President Gustavo Petro listed countering deforestation as one of its top priorities. But those efforts promise to raise tensions between the central government and local farmers, who in recent years have been on the receiving end of heavy-handed government efforts to counter deforestation.
Decarbonizing energy use by shifting to renewable energies relies on the extraction of minerals and metals that are primarily found in lower-income countries or fragile states. Accessing the critical minerals essential for developing low-carbon energy options brings us to what we might call the dark side of the green transition.
In May 2022, Australia’s Labor Party swept back to power with promises to get down to the business of modern climate leadership, and they’ve largely followed through on that promise. But the Labor Party faces an even more daunting challenge in its bid for global climate leadership: Australia is a major fossil fuel exporter.