Klimawandel, Hitze, Aggression und Konflikte

The links between environmental and climate change on the one hand and violence and conflict on the other hand are diverse and complex. The aim of this chapter is to introduce the central concepts and theories, as well as to summarize the current state of research. Furthermore, an analytical framework is developed encompassing the key concepts of resilience, vulnerability, and human security. To cover the impacts of climate change on cooperation, the approach of environmental peacebuilding is introduced. The chapter not only focuses on climate impacts such as droughts, but also addresses the role of climate mitigation, climate adaptation, and climate engineering, referring to deliberate interventions in the climate system, as amplifiers of conflict or cooperation. Furthermore, the chapter describes the heat hypothesis and the current state of research on links between climate change, heat, and aggression. In general, it can be noted that climate impacts as well as climate mitigation, climate adaptation, and climate engineering can aggravate or cause (violent) conflicts. However, the linkages are indirect and complex. Institutions and resource governance are important because they determine who benefits and who does not benefit from changes in resource availability. The heat hypothesis indicates that rising temperature may contribute to aggressive and violent behavior by individuals. However, simple mechanisms such as "hotter equals more violence" do not exist. The social and economic context matters.