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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As the world's biggest polluter, what China decides to do with its energy policy matters to the whole planet. And while progress on the domestic front has rightly won Beijing praise from climate scientists, China is the world's largest funder of coal plants overseas. Is the country employing double standards?
To shift humanity onto a sustainable path and secure peace, transformative change is required – globally. The UN’s 17 SDGs serve as critical guardrails. But what is the role of foreign policy in the implementation of these goals and what are the side-effects that diplomacy must be aware of? At the UN High-level Political Forum, experts analysed the geopolitical implications of the SDGs and discussed why foreign policy need to engage with them.
“Climate change is inextricably linked to some of the most pressing security challenges of our time,” said Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, echoing many permanent and temporary members of the United Nations Security Council. This debate, brought forward under the Swedish Presidency of the Council, aimed at bringing forth the nexus between climate change and security, not only in a context-specific manner like previously acknowledged but for the globe as a whole.
Understanding climate risks is crucial to ensuring effective and sustainable conflict prevention. On 11 July, Sweden will hold the first meeting in the UN Security Council since 2011 on climate-related security risks, to better understand how climate change impacts security, and enhance UN responses across the conflict cycle.