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Resource Conflicts

Forecasts predict that demand for food, water and energy will increase by 35, 40 and 50 per cent respectively by 2030. The expected consequences - water shortages, food and energy crises - could jeopardise the security of people and the stability of political systems, both within individual countries and across borders. The water, agricultural and energy sectors each harbour their own supply risks and corresponding political challenges. At the same time, the sectors are interrelated in the context of climate change, population growth and changing living standards and influence each other, also with regard to future trends. For example, the agricultural sector consumes around 70 per cent of the freshwater resources used worldwide, primarily for the production of food, but increasingly also for the cultivation of biomass for energy production. Networked supply risks with cross-sector and cross-border interactions pose a major challenge for policymakers. There is often a lack of political will and processes to implement integrated and long-term sustainable management of resources and risks. However, in the absence of co-operative, consistent and coherent governance approaches, the risk of potentially violent conflicts over resources increases.

Articles on climate policy, energy policy and global commodity markets (focussing on minerals and metals) can be found in separate dossiers.

 

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