Drought Helped Spark Syria’s Civil War — Is It One of Many Climate Wars to Come?

Climate change is already hurting the world's most vulnerable populations. Those who live in areas hit hard by drought, severe storms or rising seas and can't relocate because of economic or social factors bear the brunt of our planet's increasing volatility.

One way the changing climate has already made itself known is through a devastating drought -- and ensuing food shortage -- in Syria; it created a powder keg, and played a significant role in sparking the country's civil war. We can expect to see similar scenarios unfold in the future.

Moyers & Company's John Light spoke with Francesco Femia, co-founder of the Center for Climate and Security -- a think tank with an advisory board consisting of retired military commanders and international affairs experts -- about how climate change serves as a "threat multiplier" in volatile regions such as Syria, Egypt and Pakistan, and what America's role should be in a world in which climate change increasingly exacerbates -- and causes -- international crises.

Drought Helped Spark Syria’s Civil War — Is It One of Many Climate Wars to Come?