The International Conference on Climate Security in the Asia-Pacific Region was initiated by the Republic of Korea and held in Seoul on 21-22 March 2013. It was the third of the international climate security conferences aimed at finding foreign policy responses to climate risks, following events in Berlin and London. This documentation provides insights into the proceedings and the main results.
Community-driven climate action can achieve climate security in South Asia
With global climate action stagnating, sustained community-driven initiatives can fill the governance gap and also help mitigate climate-related security risks in South Asia.
The longstanding dispute over water rights among Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia escalated in 2011 when Ethiopia began construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), in the absence of any agreement with downstream Egypt. The GERD dispute offers an alarming insight into just how dangerous future transboundary water disputes may become, particularly in the context of a changing climate.
Resilient Recovery: Using climate adaptation plans to build back better
Though focused on climate change, National Adaptation Plans offer important assessments of the risks a country faces and can be valuable in devising comprehensive pandemic response strategies.
Women in the region suffer disproportionately from climate impacts, but they also play an essential role in addressing climate change. With the right policy responses, it is possible to reduce security risks and empower women to better address the challenges they face.