The Age of Consequences

The Hurt Locker meets An Inconvenient Truth in Jared P. Scott’s acclaimed documentary The Age of Consequences, a riveting look at the cascading threats climate change poses to global stability and U.S. national security. Drawing on unflinching case-study analysis from Pentagon insiders, military officials, and veterans, the film takes us beyond the headlines of the conflict in Syria, the social unrest of the Arab Spring, the rise of radicalized groups like ISIS, and the European refugee crisis to lay bare how climate change stressors like resource scarcity interact with societal tensions to spark intensifying conflicts. From drought-driven water and food shortages to extreme weather and sea-level rise, we learn how the multiplying impacts of climate change function as “accelerants of instability” and “catalysts for conflict” in volatile regions of the world.

In the end, The Age of Consequences argues that if we go on with business as usual, the catastrophic repercussions of climate change — from waves of refugees to failed states to terrorism — will continue to grow in scale and frequency, leading to grave implications for peace and security in the 21st century. At the same time, the film refuses to lapse into cynicism and fatalism, instead issuing a bold call to action to rethink how we use and produce energy.

An invaluable educational resource for courses that look at environmental issues, climate change, geopolitics, global conflict, poverty, U.S. national security policy, migration and immigration issues.

Featuring: Michael Breen, Sharon Burke, Stephen Cheney, Francesco Femia, Leon Fuerth, Sherri Goodman, Solomon Hsiang, Marcus D. King, Munir Muniruzzaman, Christian Parenti, Richard Seager, Timothy Snyder, Gordon Sullivan & David Titley

Sections: Introduction | Conflict | Instability | Unrest | Capacity | Poverty | Migration | Collapse | Dependency | Adaptation