Not even three weeks after the deadly terrorist attacks that struck Paris in November, President Obama acknowledged a connection between terrorism and climate change in a statement at COP21. The 12-day summit, at which UN leaders have convened to discuss strategies to combat climate change, is being held in Le Bourget, right in the heart of the city that was so recently struck by terror. In his speech, President Obama called the summit an act of defiance that proves nothing will deter us from building the future we want for our children.

Though Paris serves as a surface-level link between terrorism and climate change, this is hardly the first time weve heard of such a connection. At the November 14 Democratic debate, Senator Bernie Sanders asserted that climate change continued to be the United States greatest threat, claiming that climate change is directly related to the growth of terrorism.”

What do politicians mean when they correlate terrorism with climate change? How does climate influence the growth of terrorism (if at all) and what does science have to say about the supposed link?

Climate change as a threat multiplier

In 2014, the United States Department of Defense published the Climate Change Adaptation Roadmap, outlining defense and security issues in relation to climate change. The department warned that climate change was a threat multiplier, in that it stands to intensify already-acknowledged security threats such as resource scarcity, disease, drought and displacement. Regions that are ill-equipped to handle this onslaught of problems may be susceptible to the spread of extremism, according to the DOD.

These developments could undermine already-fragile governments that are unable to respond effectively or challenge currently‐stable governments, as well as increasing competition and tension between countries vying for limited resources, the paper states. These gaps in governance can create an avenue for extremist ideologies and condition that foster terrorism.

Climate change and migration

Its no secret that climate change is expected to cause massive problems related to migration. People are already beginning to seek refuge, with the worlds first climate refugeesa family from the Polynesian island nation of Tuvaluhaving been granted residency in New Zealand in 2014 due to rising tides.

Worldwide, the number of refugees (from all causes) is skyrocketing. In 2014, a staggering nearly 60 million people sought refuge in other countries due to war, poverty, resource scarcity, natural disasters and other problems, according to the UN Refugee Agency. Most of us are familiar with the current refugee crisis in Europe, but the problem extends to all corners of the globe. Unfortunately, these numbers show little promise of decreasing, with climate change threatening to displace an estimated 187 million people by 2100 if weather trends continue to follow the patterns anticipated by climate scientists.

In an interview with CBSs Face the Nation following the Nov. 14 debates, Senator Sanders expounded on his claim that climate change could exacerbate terrorism through migration issues.

… when you have drought, when people cant grow their crops, theyre going to migrate into cities, he said. And when people migrate into cities, and they dont have jobs, theres going to be a lot more instability, a lot more unemployment. And people will be subject to the types of propaganda that al Qaeda and ISIS are using right now.

Climate change and conflict

According to many leading environmentalists, we need look no further than the current civil war in Syria for evidence of climate changes role in fueling extremist ideologies. In a recent speech, Secretary of State John Kerry said that while Syrias devastating drought is of course not the sole cause of Syrias current conflict, he believes it to be at least partially responsible.

And Kerry isnt the only one. A paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences titled Climate change in the Fertile Crescent and the implications of the recent Syrian drought found that climate set into motion resource scarcity, instability and fighting in the region.

Terrorism and the fight against it are complex issues. Wed be wrong to blame any one factor on the spread of extremism and the horror that has ensued because of it. But understanding a possible link between climate change and terrorism can help us keep the big picture in mind: A planet thats sustainable, fertile and has few extreme weather events and plentiful resources may help keep populations safer and less vulnerable to conflict.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

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What’s the Link Between Terrorism and Climate Change?