Climate security: How is the United Nations responding to climate change as a source of insecurity and a hindrance to sustainable development in Sudan?

Abstract: Climate security is a subject that focuses on the relationship between climate change and security. Climate security is a subject that supports the notion that climate change is amplifying existing security threats as climate change is having negative impacts on societies, the natural environment, and development which worsen the situation, especially in regions that already experiencing major challenges. Climate security suggests that climate change causes insecurity by having the capacity to amplify and exacerbate existing tensions or creating new ones which ultimately may lead to armed conflict. This provides the importance to study the subject of climate security since most of the states that are predicted to be most affected by climate change are states that can be classified as volatile and prone to conflict. The thesis focuses on Sudan because the country is experiencing repeated armed conflicts within its borders while also being affected by climate change. This provides the main reason to study Sudan as more research is needed on how climate change is a threat amplifier. As climate change can be a source of insecurity in Sudan, the thesis also focuses on how the UN respond to climate insecurity to mitigate the negative consequences climate change imposes on Sudan. The thesis therefore aims to strengthen the research on how the UN as a multilateral organization responds to climate security. Qualitative method was used to interview four staff members from the UNDP, UNEP, and DPPA-DPO that are stationed both in New York and in Khartoum, Sudan. The results provided the conclusion that Sudan is experiencing internal armed conflicts between groups as an indirect consequence of climate change. The indirect pathways can be summarized as being connected to worsened socioeconomic standards and increased competition between different religious and ethnic groups over decreased natural resources. One main driver of the armed conflicts is also political instability and large amounts of armed groups through the country. This explains repeated and long conflicts that have affected the Sudanese people and hindered development in the country. The results from the interviews concluded that the UN acknowledge that climate change is a source of insecurity in Sudan and that the UN is prioritizing the topic of climate security. The work that the UN is implementing in Sudan have been focusing on climate adaptation to decrease the affects climate change has on Sudan. The interviews resulted in exposing the fact that the UN has experienced challenges to cohesively work with climate security in Sudan, as it has been challenging to work together with multiple UN organizations. Solutions to this challenge have among other things been the Climate Security Mechanism (CSM) which has increased cooperation internally. Other prioritized goals the UN has in Sudan is aiding in the establishment of a democratically elected government. The respondents highlighted that the work with climate security has paused since the military takeover in Sudan in 2021. This finding indicates indicates that the UN is having challenges with working in countries that are experiencing repeated political instability.