Climate Diplomacy
Europe
Global Issues
Raquel Munayer, adelphi
© Slava Bowman/Unsplash

Climate Diplomacy Week is a perfect opportunity to highlight positive climate action, set new goals and engage more and new actors in the fight against the devastating impacts of climate change. Each year, the week has its own character. Climate Diplomacy Week 2018, from 24-30 September, was marked by action – throughout the world, civil society participated in inspiring educational activities and engaged the wider public in the climate cause. We’ve selected some of the highlights for you.

In Venezuela and Serbia, citizens went on cycling tours to remind us that low-carbon transportation is possible…and fun!

Meanwhile, EU ambassadors spoke to local communities in Malaysia and hosted a river clean-up event:

Many organizations and embassies have hosted a range of climate-related events, tackling region-specific problems and focusing on engaging a key societal group in the climate change talk: youth.

#ClimaDiplo Week is also an ideal occasion to address in-depth some of the cross-cutting issues that contribute to climate change, such as waste management and industry-specific impacts, as demonstrated by the German Embassy in Nigeria.

Climate change is all about inequality, both in terms of who will suffer its effects most and who contributes most to its causes. During Climate Diplomacy Week, vulnerabilities and responsibilities come to the surface and pave the way for fruitful dialogue and exchanges:

Incidentally, have you seen our best climate diplomacy stories of 2018 yet?

And last but absolutely not least, our touring exhibition on Environment, Conflict and Cooperation (ECC) in Indonesia was a blast! If you are in Jakarta, make sure to drop by until 14 October 2018. If not, take a look at our permanent online exhibition and share it in your networks.

This is just a glimpse of all that happened during this (second) #ClimaDiplo Week 2018. The climate community is a global force which is becoming stronger. We are excited to see what Climate Diplomacy Week 2019 will bring!

Meanwhile, take a look at our summaries and highlights of the (first) 2018 Climate Diplomacy Week. See you next year!

 

Follow us on Twitter | Follow us on Facebook | Subscribe to our bi-monthly newsletter


Oli Brown, SDG Knowledge Hub / IISD

A new publication on SDGs and foreign policy, prepared by researchers at the German think tank adelphi, highlights a phenomenon I call this the ‘Great Splintering’ – the fracturing of political will for collective action on the global stage. This article outlines five steps we could take to revive multilateralism.

Adaptation & Resilience
Climate Change
Conflict Transformation
Environment & Migration
Security
Water
Sub-Saharan Africa
Natalie Sauer, Climate Home News

Satellite analysis shows ‘vanishing’ lake has grown since 1990s, but climate instability is driving communities into the arms of Boko Haram and Islamic State. Climate change is aggravating conflict around Lake Chad, but not in the way experts once thought, according to new research.

Climate Change
Climate Diplomacy
Europe
North America
Asia
Natalie Sauer, Climate Home News

At a meeting of the Arctic Council, secretary of state Mike Pompeo refused to identify global warming as a threat, instead hailing an oil rush as sea ice melts. The US refused to join other Arctic countries in describing climate change as a key threat to the region, as a two-day meeting of foreign ministers drew to a close on Tuesday in Ravaniemi, Finland.

Biodiversity & Livelihoods
Environment & Migration
Forests
Global Issues
Stella Schaller, adelphi

Around 1.6 billion people depend on forests for their livelihood, and about 2.6 billion people rely directly on agriculture. Deforestation, land degradation, and unsustainable management of ecosystems threaten those livelihoods and may contribute to resource-related conflicts and social unrest.