From the Arctic to sub-Saharan Africa, and from the Middle East to Central Asia, climate change is turning cross-border competition for natural resources into a defining feature of international relations. Population growth and rising consumption of food and raw materials are exacerbating the impact of environmental degradation in less developed areas of the planet. For the future, the question is whether governments and international institutions will reduce the risk of conflicts over natural resources in a world characterised increasingly by Great Power rivalry and the erosion of the post-1945 order.
从北极到撒哈拉以南非洲地区，从中东到中亚，气候变化正使各国对自然资源的跨境争夺成为国际关系的一个关键特征。人口增长和粮食及原材料消费的日益增长，正在加剧地球上较不发达地区环境退化的影响。展望未来，问题是在一个日益以大国竞争和1945年后的秩序被削弱为特征的世界里，各国政府和国际机构会否降低围绕自然资源的冲突风险？