Background

Lives and livelihoods of millions of people worldwide, especially in the Global South, are being severely threatened by numerous global environmental/climate, economic, geopolitical, societal and technological risks whose impacts reveal our shared vulnerabilities and heighten the recognition that insecurities are widespread, cross-cutting, and increasingly associated to intractable and interrelated crises. Also, it’s being gradually perceived that these impacts will be felt not just in the immediate region and by affected generations, but also across the international community and by future generations. 
The impacts of such complex, interconnected and multidimensional risks are revealing our shared vulnerabilities and heighten the recognition that threats to security are widespread, cross-cutting, and increasingly associated to intractable and interrelated crises. Also, it’s being gradually perceived that these impacts will be felt not just in the immediate region and by affected generations, but also across the international community and by future generations. Additionally, the viability of human systems, as well as their reproductive capacity, are consequently questioned because of the significant and unprecedented global impact that humans have on the Earth's climate and ecosystems. This viability, depending on an ecological interconnection, is increasingly challenged by environmental abuses and pressures exerted by anthropogenic actions for the sole goal of reaching resources. 

The continuous evolution of current risks is considerably altering our understanding and perception of "security". Many scientists and agencies are starting to perceive the concept of "security" more broadly, moving away from the inadequate state-centered concept of national security towards the concept of soft security. This shift is justified by the fact that emerging global risks are raising new, unavoidable questions of human and environmental insecurities. Undeniably, perceiving the current risks as a human-environmental security challenge connects these risks to human rights, poverty, vulnerability, equity, redistribution, accountability, geopolitical stability, etc.

The links between emerging risks and the security of humans and nature have been the object of considerable research and deliberations during the last decades, but it is only recently becoming an important focus of policy making. Our ability — or lack thereof — to make innovative conceptual frameworks, institutional/policy arrangements and/or technological advances for managing the emerging risks we face, will increase or decrease global environmental security, and consequently determine the future human security. Moreover, considering the links between environmental/climate security, human security and sustainability will help framing a new research agenda, and the potential development of a broad range of answers to many delicate questions.