Anthropocene Security

Earth system science now suggests that because of the huge transformations caused by human activity we now effectively live in a new geological era called the Anthropocene. The innovations in understanding the earth system make it clear that humanity is a key part of the changing biosphere and this new contextual understanding renders traditional ideas of environment inadequate in dealing with such matters as climate change. When linked to discussions of security the theme of the Anthropocene emphasises the interconnectedness of ecological factors across state boundaries while simultaneously making the precise nature of vulnerabilities and insecurities more complicated. Reformulating human security in particular requires a recognition of the new circumstances of urban vulnerability and the need to think about social systems as part of global ecology. These innovations connect with the discussions of the responsibility to protect and the human security agenda providing additional arguments for disaster cooperation and ecological innovation. NOTE: Most of this paper is drawn from Simon Dalby Security and Environmental Change Cambridge: Polity forthcoming 2009); some parts of it also appear in slightly different form in Simon Dalby “Environmental Security and Climate Change” in Robert Denemark (ed.) International Studies Compendium On Line/ International Studies Encyclopedia (forthcoming). ANTHROPOCENE SECURITY The interactions between environmental change and human societies have a long and complex history, spanning many millennia. They vary greatly through time and from place to place. Despite these spatial and temporal differences, in recent years a global perspective has begun to emerge that forms the framework for a growing body of research within the environmental sciences. Crucial to the emergence of this perspective has been the dawning awareness of two fundamental aspects of the nature of the planet. The first is that the Earth itself is a single system, within which the biosphere is an active essential component. In terms of a sporting analogy, life is a player, not a spectator. Second, human activities are now so pervasive and profound in their consequences that they affect the Earth at a global scale in complex, interactive and accelerating ways; humans now have the capacity to alter the Earth System in ways that threaten the very processes and components, both biotic and abiotic, upon which humans depend. (International Geosphere Biosphere Program 2001: 4)