In its third conclusions on climate diplomacy, published on 20 July 2015, the Council of the European Union reinforces its commitment to addressing climate change as a key foreign policy and security matter.
As underlined by the latest IPCC findings, climate change is linked to multiple environmental, social, political and economic risks. Climate diplomacy initiatives and responses at a global and EU level are, thus, central in addressing climate change related threats, with the aim of pursuing a “safe, sustainable and climate resilient low-carbon development path”. Underscoring the security dimension of climate change, the Council welcomes the latest G7 report "A New Climate for Peace" and is committed to building up its climate diplomacy component as an inherent part of its foreign policy. Furthermore, the Council’s conclusions recall the need for a legally binding agreement at the COP21 in Paris and stress the importance of accelerating multilateral and joint EU climate diplomacy efforts. The High Representative and the Commission are invited to report back in early 2016 with regards to the outcome of the COP21 and its implications for climate diplomacy and future actions.
The impact of climate change is posing a growing threat to peace and security. Germany is therefore putting climate and security on the Security Council’s agenda.
Russia’s economic development minister warned last week that the EU’s plans to deploy a carbon tax at the bloc’s borders will not be in line with World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules, just as Brussels doubled down on the idea of green tariffs.
Few places have suffered more from the COVID-19 pandemic than southern China, the region where the novel coronavirus was first detected in the city of Wuhan. But it turned out that the pandemic is not the only calamity to befall south China this year. The region has been inundated by heavy rainfall since late May, creating a risk of catastrophic flooding.
Natural resources-based conflicts are sometimes made complex by non-climate push and pull factors, like unemployment and political tension. These factors should be taken into account when developing and implementing a peacebuilding strategy, making sure all stakeholders are at the table – including those fueling the conflict. The online workshop ‘Integrating peacebuilding and climate change mitigation efforts in natural resource management’, organised by the European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO) and adelphi, looked into this complex issue.