This introductory paper reviews a series of papers that represent a first step towards articulating a critical analysis of environmental security, one that dislodges the state as the preferred level of analysis, seeks to understand threats to security in terms of rights, access and justice, and questions key assumptions that underlie much of the existing literature. The focus shifts from environmental security to environmental insecurity, as we attempt to understand how individuals, groups and communities become disadvantaged in terms of their environmental entitlements.