Climate Governance by Rebel Groups

• In Event: Climate Change and Conflict

Abstract

Climate-induced hazards have been increasing in frequency and intensity and are projected to worsen. Scholarship and policies have both focused on the promises and pitfalls of climate adaptation and mitigation by various actors, including international organizations, regional bodies, national and local governments, and the private sector. In this study, we highlight rebel groups as another set of actors that actively engage in climate governance. Debates on climate change generally overlook rebel groups’ capacity to wield authority over climate-related issues. Meanwhile, scholarship documents extensive governance by rebel groups in many contexts - from running hospitals and schools to providing access to courts - but have yet to systematically document rebel climate governance. This paper introduces new data on rebel governance related to climate adaptation, mitigation, and climate-related disaster relief for all rebel groups active in territorial civil wars between 1990 and 2020. In areas as diverse as Colombia, Iraq, and Cameroon we see examples of rebel groups that provide governance that relates to adapting and building resilience to the impacts of climate change. In Colombia, since 2022, the rebel group Estado Mayor Central (EMC) has instituted logging bans in regions under its control with enforcement via fines for perpetrators, creating parallel efforts to curb deforestation to those of the Colombian Government. The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has often managed the Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation in Iraqi Kurdistan, primarily tasked with managing the region’s water resources to achieve food sustainability. In addition to presenting novel descriptive statistics and case illustrations, this study examines why some rebel groups engage in governance related to climate change. We argue that whether rebels are more concerned with local vs international legitimacy will affect the types of adaptation and mitigation efforts they pursue, and the extent to which they do so.

Authors

• Kathleen Gallagher Cunningham, University of Maryland, College Park

• Leonardo Gentil Fernandes, University of Tennessee, Knoxville

• Elisabeth Gilmore, Carleton University

• Reyko Huang, Texas A&M University

• Danielle F. Jung, Emory University

• Cyanne E. Loyle, Pennsylvania State University