The 7 Planks of 21st Century Diplomacy
The best resource for all of our 21st Century Diplomacy: Foreign Policy Is Climate Policy content is the official website, hosted by the Wilson Center and adelphi. But the ECC editors are also collecting the topics here for eager readers.
Discover the essays:
The actions of the United States, China, and India will largely determine climate’s impact on the globe. At the same time, climate change is already influencing today’s era of great power competition and redefining the landscape of global leadership.
The climate crisis lays bare issues of inequity and injustice. Those least responsible for climate change are most vulnerable to its impacts. How can the foreign policy community accelerate and align efforts to address climate change with the global rallying cry for a more equitable and just world?
The Paris Agreement and UNFCCC process remains the primary avenue for current climate efforts and nation-state-to-nation-state diplomacy. This traditional mode of diplomacy is indispensable, but neglects the transformative power of sub- and non-state actors that are teaming up to take progressive action and form new leadership coalitions. What do these new modes of multilateralism mean for 21st century diplomacy?
Storm surges leave people stranded in their homes. Climate change can leave billion-dollar assets and entire sectors stranded, their value eroded by the changing economic landscape. Central banks, insurers, and financial regulators need to account for climate risk, including in international negotiations.
Decarbonizing the global energy system could spare every country from the most damaging climate impacts. However, universal benefits are not equal benefits, and the balance of power and relations between states will inevitably shift. What will the new geopolitical landscape look like?
Climate change is already a key driver in people’s decisions to move. The current foreign policy narrative on climate-affected migration focuses on security threats, border controls, and refugee management. But to empower those who are at the climate and mobility crossroads to enjoy meaningful choices, the diplomatic community will need to facilitate the protection of life and dignity, whether individuals and communities are on the move or choosing to stay in place.
Geoengineering is deliberate large-scale intervention in the Earth’s natural systems to combat climate change. Solar radiation management (SRM) is arguably the most likely technology to be deployed. An appealing technology option for some and risky endeavor for many, the lack of international norms or regulations on SRM research and deployment is a pressing diplomatic priority.
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Wilson Center
Climate-related disasters pose grave challenges to health in South Asia
As disasters wreak havoc all over South Asia, health impacts have increasingly emerged as a major concern for communities and governments in the region. It underscores the need for concerted efforts towards building synergies between the Paris Agreement, the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction and the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda, particularly now, in the post-disaster reconstruction phase, to ensure “building back better” and future disaster prevention.
Forty years of tree-planting in China: successes and failures
In the Inner Mongolian county of Horinger, Northwestern China, afforestation efforts have transformed a barren, dusty landscape into a pine forest. Planting trees has diminished the sandstorms, boosted biodiversity and improved the environment generally. As the climate emergency worsens, the potential for planted trees to draw carbon out of the atmosphere is being re-examined. What can the world learn from the Chinese experience with afforestation?
Two events in August 2019 underlined the complexity of paving the way to a climate-neutral world: the publishing of the new IPCC report and the Amazon fires. Both events demand that climate diplomats move beyond a narrowed focus on energy in decarbonisation debates.
In this interview, EcoPeace Directors Nada Majdalani (Palestine), Yana Abu-Taleb (Jordan) and Gidon Bromberg (Israel) explain why disengaging from a shared environment can aggravate the region’s security challenges.