The Spanish version of the Exhibition Environment, Conflict and Cooperation (ECC) that includes a specific module on South America is currently shown in Chile in cooperation with the NGO Fundación Terram. During 9-20 May, the Exhibition was hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Chile. The launch event on 10 May was attended by over a hundred participants: foreign policy, defence and environmental decision makers from Chile, representatives of several Latin American countries, Germany and USA, as well as members of Chilean and international civil society.
The event drew attention to the fact that Chile is a country highly vulnerable to impacts of climate change both due to geographical factors and the economic dependence on extractive industries. The speeches also highlighted the role of diplomacy and international cooperation.
Eduardo Gálvez, Director of Foreign Policy, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, offered an opening speech on national and international climate change policies, proclaiming “the beginning of the end of fossil fuel based economy” and highlighting the importance of shifting development on a sustainable path. The German Ambassador in Santiago de Chile Rolf Schulze underlined that a sustainable transition required structural changes around the world in order to face climate challenges. Waldemar Coutts, Director of Environment and Maritime Affairs at the MFA, noted the importance of supporting environmental democracy and climate justice. Flavia Liberona, Director of Fundación Terram, maintained that public policies in Chile urgently need to tackle the challenges of climate change and the extractivist economic model, integrating both local demands and international obligations.
From 31 May to 3 June 2016, the Exhibition was shown at the National Congress of Chile in Valparaíso, supported by Deputy Vlado Mirosevic and Senator Antonio Horvath.
The Exhibition highlights various impacts of environmental degradation and the growing scarcity of natural resources: as a threat to human security and economic and political stability, as a cause of tensions and conflicts between social and political groups, and as a cause of violent conflicts. It also explores ways and means for environmental cooperation to serve as an instrument of conflict prevention and peacebuilding.
A press release on the event at the MFA is available on the webpage of Fundación Terram. To read more about the Exhibition at the Congress, please visit the website of the Chilean Chamber of Deputies (both in Spanish).
2019 has only just begun, but it is already hard to imagine that there will be other extreme weather events with disastrous consequences such as cyclone Idai happening again this year. In all likelihood, such events will continue to occur as 2019 rolls on. Idai is, once more, proof of how devastating and toxic the mix of climate change, extreme weather events and poverty can be: Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe – countries that rank low in human development but contribute very little to global greenhouse gas emissions – suffer from some of the worst impacts of climate change.
adelphi has relaunched its exhibition Environment, Conflict and Cooperation (ECC) Exhibition to illustrate how unprecedented environmental changes interact with social, political, and economic risks to exacerbate conflict. We invite you to explore our online exhibition and to learn more about urgent issues of our time: climate, energy, migration, extractives, food and water.
Climate security risks are, by all interpretations, a global threat. But when it comes to setting a political climate security agenda, a handful of countries stand out. In an interview with Climate Diplomacy, Michaela Spaeth, Director for Energy and Climate Policy at the German Federal Foreign Office, highlights some of Germany’s goals and challenges in forwarding the issue during its 2019-20 membership in the UN Security Council.
The Planetary Security Conference 2019, which concluded on 20 February, saw a number of workshops being held on the Sahel region and specifically Mali, one of the Conference’s three spotlight regions. These workshops examined the region’s climate-water-security risks as well as the #doable actions and solutions to address these issues.