Intense fireball explosions with thick smoke in an outdoor setting.

The Iran War’s Hidden Front: Carbon, Fire and the Cost of Modern Warfare

When missiles strike refineries and cities burn, the damage is measured in casualties and territory. Far less visible is another front line: the atmosphere. In the first 14 days of the conflict involving Iran, an estimated 5 million tonnes of CO₂-equivalent emissions were released, roughly comparable to the annual footprint of a small state, and…

Benjamin Neimark

Benjamin Neimark

Benjamin Neimark is a Reader at the School of Business and Management and a former Fellow at the Institute of Social Science and Humanities (IHSS) at Queen Mary University of London. He is a human geographer and political ecologist whose research focuses on the environmental and social impacts of global supply chains, extractive industries, and…

Episode 356: War on the Climate: Conflict, Carbon, and the Hidden Cost of War in Iran with Benjamin Neimark and Frederick Otu-Larbi

This episode hosts Benjamin Neimark and Frederick Otu-Larbi to examine the environmental and climate consequences of modern warfare, with a particular focus on the ongoing conflict involving Iran and its rapidly escalating global impact. The conversation explores how conflict is generating emissions at unprecedented speed and scale, with millions of tonnes of carbon dioxide released…

Dr Florian Krampe

Dr Florian Krampe

Dr. Florian Krampe is a German/Swedish political scientist and is the Director of Studies, Peace and Development, at SIPRI. He is also Director of the SIPRI Climate Change and Risk Programme. His particular focus is on peace and conflict research, environmental and climate security, and international security. With over 16 years of experience, Dr. Krampe…

The Climate-Conflict Nexus in the Lake Chad Basin: Complexity Beyond Simplistic Narratives

The Climate-Conflict Nexus in the Lake Chad Basin: Complexity Beyond Simplistic Narratives

The Lake Chad Basin has become one of the world’s most frequently cited examples of how climate change, insecurity, and governance pressures intersect. With over 50 million people across Nigeria, Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, the region supports livelihoods that depend almost solely on natural resources, particularly fishing, farming, and pastoralism. Over the past six decades,…

Andrew E. Yaw Tchie

Andrew E. Yaw Tchie

Andrew E. Yaw Tchie is a Senior Research Fellow at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI) and Manager of the Training for Peace Programme. His research focuses on African-led peace support operations and stabilisation missions, United Nations peacekeeping operations in Africa, partnerships between the United Nations, the African Union, and regional organisations, as well…

Dr Rupert Stuart-Smith

Dr Rupert Stuart-Smith

Dr Rupert Stuart-Smith is the Deputy Director and a Senior Research Fellow in Climate Science and the Law at the Oxford Sustainable Law Programme, University of Oxford. His work sits at the intersection of climate science, legal accountability, and financial risk, examining how scientific advances are reshaping accountability in the climate transition. Trained in climate…

Climate Litigation and Risk: Who Pays for Climate Damage?

Climate Litigation and Risk: Who Pays for Climate Damage?

Ten years after the adoption of the Paris Agreement, the fight over climate responsibility has moved from the halls of diplomacy to courtrooms around the world. Climate litigation is increasingly being deployed as a device to test, enforce, and sometimes redefine climate obligations across jurisdictions. It does not replace political negotiation, regulatory reform, or market…

Episode 332: Who Pays for Climate Damage? Climate Litigation, Attribution and Accountability with Dr Rupert Stuart-Smith

In this episode of The International Risk Podcast, Dominic Bowen speaks with Dr Rupert Stuart-Smith about the rapid expansion of climate litigation and what it means for corporate strategy, financial stability, and international risk. The discussion explores how climate lawsuits have evolved from targeted environmental challenges into a structural feature of the climate transition, reshaping…

Aerial shot of a harvester working a cornfield in rural Austin, MN during fall season.

Food Security and Systemic Resilience: Preparing for Cascading Risks in Modern Food Systems

Food security is frequently treated as a domestic policy metric: a function of agricultural output, food prices, and household purchasing power. Yet, in an era defined by dense global trade networks and digitally mediated supply chains, national food systems operate as interdependent nodes within a transnational system. Producers, maritime corridors, energy markets and regulatory authorities…