Interesting deep dive 👇 in @justsecurity.org which shows that there is still scope for the #UNSC to serve as an instrument for joint conflict resolution (or at least conflict management), rather than just as an arena for geopolitical competition (1/2)

Richard Gowan@richardgowan1.bsky.social · 5d ago

New from me and @fortid.crisisgroup.org for @justsecurity.org, a deep dive into China's UNSC diplomacy over Afghanistan, and what it tells us about Beijing's evolving attitude to the UN. www.justsecurity.org/150260/china...

"If this summer marks anything, it should be the moment that adaptation moves from the margins of environmental policy to the centre of economic planning and foreign policy", @chathamhouse.org colleagues argue 👇 - and this goes for other governments as well www.chathamhouse.org/2026/07/euro...

Europe’s summer of fires: Burnham must centre climate adaptation in policies

The UK government should treat adaptation to the effects of climate change as a core organizing principle of both economic policy at home and foreign policy.

chathamhouse.org

Global heating made hot, dry and windy weather at least 20 times more likely in Spain and twice as likely in France, according to the World Weather Attribution consortium. Blame on the heating caused by the burning of oil, gas and coal. Climate change threats. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/j...

‘Extremely scary findings’ show climate crisis is supercharging Europe’s wildfire weather

Latest study says global heating has made hot, dry and windy conditions in Spain at least 20 times more likely

theguardian.com

Europe "is home to less than 10 percent of the world’s population but accounted for more than one-third of the WHO’s estimated heat deaths between 2000 and 2019." "We are still treating heat as a weather event rather than a chronic public health threat.", @who.int's Hans Kluge is quoted 👇

Zia Weise@ziaweise.bsky.social · last mo.

Once the heat dissipates, Europe will start counting its dead. Story: www.politico.eu/article/why-...

Today has been the hottest day in May on record with Kew Gardens provisionally reaching 34.8°C - exceeding the previous highest May temperature in the UK by a full 2 degrees Celsius🌡️ This heat would be exceptional in the UK even in mid summer, let alone in May📈

While foreign aid has previously helped prevent famine caused by drought (in 2016/17 & 2022/23, after arriving too late in 2011, w/ famine killing nearly 260,000, "U.S. aid cuts have made famine this time round both more likely and easier to hide" #Somalia www.crisisgroup.org/anb/africa/s...

Somalia Barrels toward Possible Famine amid Aid Cuts | International Crisis Group

Crisis Group experts Chris Newton and Omar Mahmood explain the latest famine warnings for Somalia and the scant prospects of relief on the horizon

crisisgroup.org

Haven't we been there before? "the ​number of people receiving emergency food aid in #Syria fell to 650,000 ​in May from 1.3 million [...] Meanwhile, 7.2 million people in Syria remain acutely ​food insecure, including 1.6 million facing severe hunger" www.reuters.com/world/un-foo...

UN food agency halves Syria food aid, halts bread subsidy over funding shortages

The World Food Programme said on Wednesday it had halved emergency food assistance in Syria due to funding shortages, warning that millions remained vulnerable despite ​signs of stabilisation in parts...

reuters.com

"The abrupt withdrawal of #USAID led to a significant and sustained increase in conflict across #Africa’s most USAID-dependent regions. ... The mitigating role of inclusive institutions highlights the persistent vulnerability of regions with weak governance" 👇 www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Aiding peace or conflict? The impact of USAID cuts on violence

Less than a week after its inauguration, the second Trump administration issued a blanket stop-work order for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the largest national human...

science.org

"Indigenous organizations from across the Amazon and Latin America" warn that "the expansion of organized crime is undermining Indigenous governance systems and threatening communities that have long acted as stewards of some of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems" 👇 apnews.com/article/amaz...

Indigenous Amazon groups urge the UN to curb organized crime, not militarize territories

Indigenous organizations from across the Amazon and Latin America have sent a letter to the United Nations warning that organized crime — including illegal mining, drug trafficking and logging — is dr...

apnews.com

"The agricultural system is absorbing the Middle East crisis across its entire supply chain simultaneously through increased input costs, market volatility, and trade disruption. ... This is no longer a sequence of separate crises. It is the convergence of conflict and climate risk" 👇

Devex@devex.com · 3mo ago

Opinion: El Niño will not wait for the Strait of Hormuz to open.

"the efforts of Europe’s politicians to protect consumers from higher energy prices show they have learned little from the past [...] price caps exacerbate the problems, because they subsidise demand" 👇 www.economist.com/europe/2026/...

European policymakers fiddle with energy prices, again

By subsidising fuel, they are delaying adjustments in demand

economist.com

Very detailed article on US decision-making on #Iran👇Essentially, everyone in the war cabinet (save Hegseth) thought this would not add up, and they (Vance in particular) want the NYT / world to know. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/u...

How Trump Took the U.S. to War With Iran

nytimes.com

"Oil and gas built the Gulf economies, but desalinated seawater sustains the populations that inhabit them." @ashoswai.bsky.social 👇 on the asymmetry of technologically advanced but hydrologically fragile #Gulf societies & the worrying erosion of norms of international humanitarian law wrt/ #water

Ashok Swain@ashoswai.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Missiles and drone may shake oil markets and gas supply, but targeting desalination plants exposes a deeper crisis: the Gulf’s survival depends on manufactured water. The Iran war risks turning water into a weapon and cities into dry zones. #MyPiece scroll.in/article/1091...

The real, lasting effect of the 2021-22 fossil fuel crisis was a major acceleration in solar that pushed coal down *faster* than the pre-crisis trendline in the following years.

Time required for a 1C increase in global average temperature 1970 - 2008 average rise 0.18C per decade = 55 years 2015 - 2024 average rise 0.27C pd = 37 years New study - last 10+ years - average rise 0.35 pd = 28 years www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Humanity heating planet faster than ever before, study finds

Researchers identify sharp rise to about 0.35C every decade, after excluding natural fluctuations such as El Niño

theguardian.com

"While the world’s attention is drawn to Iran after the US and Israel’s attack, on the heels of other armed conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, the primary threat to many countries is the climate crisis, said Regenvanu", noting 1 cyclone wiped out 64% of Vanuatu’s GDP www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Vanuatu moves forward with UN climate resolution despite Trump opposition

Pacific island says the US weakened its proposal to advance a key climate ruling but vows to hold major polluters accountable

theguardian.com

ICYMI: @egmontinstitute.bsky.social's Sven Biscop 👇 on the geopolitics of #Russia's war against #Ukraine and what this means for #Europe www.egmontinstitute.be/a-european-w...

A European War - Egmont Institute

The longer Russia’s war against Ukraine has lasted, the more important it has become to the security of all of Europe. Ukraine is not a member of the EU or […]

egmontinstitute.be

Worth your time 👇 TL;DR: the view that Khamenei's reign was disastrous for the system is widespread among its remnants & regime change is already a reality, but the question is how, given sense of existential threat; "they don't know how to get out of the corner without fighting their way out" (1/2)

Crisis Group@crisisgroup.org · 5mo ago

🎧 SPECIAL EPISODE | Hold Your Fire! Regime change or regional war? After the U.S. and Israel kill Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, we discuss the U.S. - Israel strikes on Iran, the regional fallout, and what could come next. www.crisisgroup.org/pod/middle-e...

This year, "Ukraine and the EU tabled a much shorter text. The U.S. pitched an unsuccessful last-minute proposal to delete two paragraphs affirming Ukraine’s sovereign rights, which only eleven countries – including Russia – backed." 👇

Richard Gowan@richardgowan1.bsky.social · 5mo ago

Quick thing from me @crisisgroup.org on yesterday's UNGA vote on Ukraine. www.crisisgroup.org/anb/europe-c...

Great overview on the state of EU climate policy 👇 Tl;dr: "Despite the shifting political landscape, the EU has demonstrated its ability to act. But: major concessions on review clauses, flexibilities & conditions have increased policy uncertainty - posing new risks to policy instruments"

Felix Schenuit@felixschenuit.bsky.social · 6mo ago

It may be surprising that the EU's Climate Law - including the net 90% target for 2040 - passed in the European Parliament. A closer look at the adopted text explains why those in the EPP who favour weaker climate ambition could support the deal and did not vote with the far-right parties. /1

As #MSC2026 kicks off, worth revisiting this assessment 👇 "Cascading risks of ecosystem degradation are likely to include geopolitical instability, economic insecurity, conflict, migration and increased inter-state competition for resources" Nature loss undermines security far beyond the UK 1/5

The Guardian@theguardian.com · 7mo ago

Biodiversity collapse threatens UK security, intelligence chiefs warn

The @economist.com realigns politically with Nina Simone (the United Snakes of America) 👇

Kori Schake@kschake.bsky.social · 6mo ago

That’s some cover.

US opposes mentioning rule of law in the #UNSC: " #Somalia circulated a draft presidential statement on the rule of law on 17 January. ... the draft was withdrawn on 22 January. It appears that the #US indicated that it was opposed to the text" 👇 www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/...

Rule of Law: High-level Open Debate

securitycouncilreport.org

"Even before ICE cut its training schedule to just 47 days last year — a length, remember absurdly chosen to honor Donald Trump as the 47th president — ICE’s “1801” deportation officers were among the least educated and least trained federal law enforcement in the country" 👇

Garrett M. Graff@vermontgmg.bsky.social · 6mo ago

Curious why ICE and CBP agents are so brutal? Here's a useful explainer I wrote last week, before Saturday's outrageous murder, about how uniquely unsuited ICE and CBP are for this moment—and why they were so corruptible into Trump's own fascist secret police: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/ice-101-ho...

NEW | Wind and solar generated more power than fossil fuels in the EU for the FIRST time ever. 🌪️ and ☀️ made up a RECORD 30% of 🇪🇺 electricity, up from 20% just five years ago. https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/european-electricity-review-2026/

A milestone we didn't want to see - Russia has made one trillion euros on fossil fuel exports since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. All the more reason to shift away from dependence on dirty energy and to strengthen sanctions on Russia.

Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air@creacleanair.bsky.social · 7mo ago

🇷🇺❗1 TRILLION EUROS❗ 🚨 Russian fossil fuel revenues hit EUR 1TN - since 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine CREA calls for: 🛢️ Shutting down shadow fleet & refining loophole 🌿 Diversifying from Russian gas 🇺🇦 Facilitating self-determined peace in Ukraine www.youtube.com/shorts/3YO4C...

"Trump’s express revisionism is more dangerous than his predecessor’s familiar hypocrisy. For all the double standards, the core tenets of the post-World War II legal order need U.S. buy-in": a peek at what spheres-of-influence politics entails across various fragile contexts 👇

Crisis Group@crisisgroup.org · 7mo ago

NEW COMMENTARY | @crisisgroup.org’s 10 Conflicts to Watch in 2026 2025 was a bloody affair. 2026 promises little better. @comfortero.crisisgroup.org and Richard Atwood unpack the challenges that lie ahead this year. ⬇️ www.crisisgroup.org/global/10-co...

"edited for length and clarity" 👇 & very well so, from the headline to the conclusion that what’s troubling "is not just that the President has used force in clear violation of domestic law and international law but that it’s clear he couldn’t care less about the fact that he’s breaking these rules"

Isaac Chotiner@ichotiner.bsky.social · 7mo ago

New Interview: www.newyorker.com/news/q-and-a...

This piece by @attackerman.bsky.social on both past & contemporary censorship is very much worth your time, whether in 2025 or next year

Spencer Ackerman@attackerman.bsky.social · 7mo ago

As it happens, I have experience with high-level government demands to stop an explosive, accurate story from running, and I also have experience with 60 Minutes spiking a story I was involved in, so I have thoughts about the travesty at CBS. If you want some journalism anecdotes, here are a lot: