1946 Forum Washington D.C. Breakfast

Climate change is a threat multiplier, exacerbating risks to global stability. As the world warms, new geopolitical flashpoints are emerging while existing challenges such as poverty, conflict and migration are intensifying. 

Many countries on the frontline of climate change are often among the world’s poorest and less able to adapt, despite their footprint being the smallest. Climate change could wipe out 15% of Africa’s GDP by 2030, resulting in an additional 100 million people in extreme poverty by the end of the decade, yet the continent only produces 2-3% of global emissions. Women also commonly face higher risks and greater burdens: the majority of the world’s poor are women and women dominate global food production, yet they own less than 10% of the land. 

We recently took a delegation of Conservative MPs to Washington DC to discuss and address the US and UK’s shared global foreign policy challenges and opportunities with key decision-makers across the Atlantic. 

As part of this visit, we hosted a 1946 Forum breakfast roundtable to discuss how climate change is intertwined with global prosperity and security. Discussions focused on climate resilience, loss and damage, the role for the UK, US and their allies in boosting homegrown, resilient food, health and energy systems in developing countries, and reducing the influence of hostile actors in climate-vulnerable regions, to increase stability and enhance development.

Attendees included UK MPs Rt Hon Vicky Ford MP, the Rt Hon David Mundell MP, Bim Afolami MP, and Peter Gibson MP; US-based policymakers, including Michael Chertoff, former United States Secretary of Homeland Security, and Sherri Goodman, who coined the phrase 'threat multiplier' and is a Senior Fellow at the Wilson Center.