Abstract

The quest for achieving security is a core concern that shapes individual behavior, state politics, and the agendas of international organizations. While the traditional security conception focuses on the nation-state, violence, power, and war-logics, and relies on the military to defend territorial borders, climate change has pushed a re-assessment of the meanings and practices of security. As a result, the climate security nexus holds several interpretations, and attracts fears and hopes being described either as a panacea, as being ineffective or as reinforcing the climate crises. This chapter traces how the field of climate security has developed in theory and practice and contextualizes the ethical implications in the new geological era, the Anthropocene. The manifold interconnections, and multiple meanings and perceptions of climate security, challenge the theory but also traditional security politics and institutions, such as the United Nations Security Council. This chapter also assesses the shortcomings of climate security and provides some recommendations for further developing the field.