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In a reversal of a previously published "study" the PNAS has published a report that says "traditional causes of strife" are to blame for the events in Africa.
The author of the report also faults the previous PNAS article as lacking a research foundation.
Climate change is not responsible for civil wars in Africa, a study suggests.
It challenges previous assumptions that environmental disasters, such as drought and prolonged heat waves, had played a part in triggering unrest.
Instead, it says, traditional factors - such as poverty and social tensions - were often the main factors behind the outbreak of conflicts.
The findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in the United States.
"Climate variability in Africa does not seem to have a significant impact on the risk of civil war," said author Halvard Buhaug, senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo's (Prio) Centre for the Study of Civil War.
"If you apply a number of different definitions of conflict and various different ways to measure climate variability, most of these measurements will turn out not to be associated with each other.
He added that it was not too hard to find examples of where politicians were publicly making the link between the projected impact of climate change and the associated security risks.
Margaret Beckett, when she held the post of British Foreign Secretary, tabled a debate on climate change at the UN Security Council in 2007.
Ahead of the gathering, the British delegation circulated a document that warned of "major changes to the world's physical landmass during this century", which would trigger border and maritime disputes.
In his paper, Dr Buhaug questioned the findings of research that appeared in PNAS in November last year.
The 2009 paper suggested that climate had been a major driver of armed conflict in Africa, and that future warming was likely to increase the number of deaths from war.
US researchers found that across the continent, conflict was about 50% more likely in unusually warm years.
BBC News - Climate shifts 'not to blame' for African civil wars
http://rogerpielkejr.blogspot.com/2010/09/climate-change-and-african-civil-war.html
The author of the report also faults the previous PNAS article as lacking a research foundation.
Climate change is not responsible for civil wars in Africa, a study suggests.
It challenges previous assumptions that environmental disasters, such as drought and prolonged heat waves, had played a part in triggering unrest.
Instead, it says, traditional factors - such as poverty and social tensions - were often the main factors behind the outbreak of conflicts.
The findings have been published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) in the United States.
"Climate variability in Africa does not seem to have a significant impact on the risk of civil war," said author Halvard Buhaug, senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo's (Prio) Centre for the Study of Civil War.
"If you apply a number of different definitions of conflict and various different ways to measure climate variability, most of these measurements will turn out not to be associated with each other.
He added that it was not too hard to find examples of where politicians were publicly making the link between the projected impact of climate change and the associated security risks.
Margaret Beckett, when she held the post of British Foreign Secretary, tabled a debate on climate change at the UN Security Council in 2007.
Ahead of the gathering, the British delegation circulated a document that warned of "major changes to the world's physical landmass during this century", which would trigger border and maritime disputes.
In his paper, Dr Buhaug questioned the findings of research that appeared in PNAS in November last year.
The 2009 paper suggested that climate had been a major driver of armed conflict in Africa, and that future warming was likely to increase the number of deaths from war.
US researchers found that across the continent, conflict was about 50% more likely in unusually warm years.
BBC News - Climate shifts 'not to blame' for African civil wars
http://rogerpielkejr.blogspot.com/2010/09/climate-change-and-african-civil-war.html
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