On the Mekong Delta, the massive river system in Southeast Asia, we see a prime example of how import water and water management are for sustainable development and climate change. This has to do, for one, with the human right to access to clean drinking water, as well as with agriculture, which now accounts for around 70 percent of global water consumption. In India, this share is as high as 90 percent. Water management along large rivers, especially in light of climate change, is an urgent challenge that developing countries must confront. FAIReconomics discussed water management and climate diplomacy in the Mekong Delta with Sabine Blumstein, a Project Manager at adelphi, an independent think tank and leading advisory body for climate, environment, and development issues.
With water resources under increasing pressure, transboundary water management and cooperation are becoming more and more important in shared river basins and should correspondingly step up on the diplomatic agenda. The paper “Water connects” outlines the available options and provides the scientific underpinning for future-oriented narratives and desirable action in water diplomacy.
The G20 is at a crossroads. Since its inception, the exclusive group has had the chief objective of avoiding a new financial crisis. But a looming crisis of a different nature could now threaten international stability just as much: climate change, a risk factor deeply intertwined with other hazards such as slow growth and rising inequality.
On 19 January 2017, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan hosted a roundtable seminar with international experts and country representatives to follow up on G7 efforts to address climate-fragility risks.
The Mekong River is vital, serving >66 million people. Sabine Blumstein shares 3 reasons for more climate diplomacy.
2016 was an exciting year for the ECC Exhibition, as it visited many countries and received high-ranking backing. Translated into several languages, the ECC Exhibition travelled across the globe as part of the Climate Diplomacy initiative, supported by the German Federal Foreign Office. The Exhibition was hosted by political institutions, universities and it was even displayed in a park. Two modules celebrated a worldwide premiere, together with great new interactive features, based on the online version launched in 2015. We are happy to share the following highlights:
The race is on for Saudi Arabia to find new sources of income before the oil age peters out. Could acting on climate change cause some of the world’s wealthiest countries to collapse into disorder and danger?
The Climate Diplomacy platform has been dedicated to monitoring and supporting the climate debate, by gathering and promoting stories, which touch on different aspects of climate diplomacy. Thus, to end the year on a positive note and maintain the motivation for 2017, we’ve complied our top ten climate diplomacy stories published on our platform over the past year.