ABSTRACT
Broadening the concept of security has been a theme of international policy discourse ever since the end of the Cold War. It is in this context that potential threats to security from environmental change have entered the security policy debate. WBGU has prepared the present report in response to an upsurge of interest in Germany, and indeed across Europe, in the possible links between environment and security. Public debate on the subject is highly diffuse in character and is being conducted on the basis of a sketchy set of facts. WBGU's intention in presenting this report is to strengthen the empirical basis of the debate and, in addition, to develop a long-term perspective that goes beyond ad hoc interpretations of current and past ‘environmental conflicts’.
