It's an issue noticeably absent from the US presidential election but climate change and its effects are felt everywhere. So pressing are the economic, social and environmental effects of climate change that there is an urgent need for the world's governments, particularly foreign ministries, to engage in climate diplomacy to avert future crises, warn representatives from Adelphi.
According to its website, Adelphi is a think tank that offers creative solutions and services on global environment and development challenges for policy, business and civil-society communities.
Here are the facts. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) noted that there is a 90 per cent probability that over the last 250 years, human activity has warmed the planet and that human-produced green gases have caused the observed increase in temperatures. The IPCC has predicted that by 2100, the planet's temperatures would have increased by 2 – 4 degrees celsius and that sea levels would rise by 18-59 cm. Additionally population and economic growth will accelerate climate change noted expert in Climate and Energy and International Environmental Policy and head of Climate and Energy Policies at Adelphi, Dennis Tanzler. While addressing the audience at the Learning Resource Centre at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine on October 18, Tanzler explained that by 2050, the world's population would reach nine billon, the world would urbanise further and rapidly, concentrating people in small areas – this would result in increasing demands on land, energy, food, water and other resources already affected by climate change.
But is climate change a conflict driver, a threat to international peace and security? The answer is yes, say experts from Adelphi.
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Linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans across the Latin American landmass has often been presented as one of the holy grails of development for the region. While China’s idea of a ‘Nicaraguan Canal’ has made headlines globally, another major infrastructure project is in the works further south: the Bi-Oceanic Railway. The idea has already spurred transboundary environmental cooperation, but the public is still in the dark.
Using a progressive environmental security concept can help to tackle a range of environmental issues related to armed conflict, such as deforestation, loss of biodiversity, tensions over natural resources, conflict pollution, and damage to ecosystems. The environment can actually play a role in peacebuilding. This article briefly outlines why such an inclusive and environmental protection approach is needed and how it could be implemented.
Climate action and free trade have been perceived as contrary agendas for a long time. Despite more and more governments seeing tremendous potential for win-win outcomes, aligning trade and climate has become harder. This is due to changes in our current geopolitical landscape, as Christian Hübner explains in light of the upcoming G20 summit.
Human activity has caused the temperature of the Earth and its atmosphere to rise by about 1°C above pre-industrial levels, triggering fundamental changes to the planet’s physical and social landscapes. On 8 October an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned that temperatures were rising faster than expected, and that 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels could occur as early as 2030.