Noting that climate change constitutes a decisive global challenge which, if not urgently managed, will put at risk not only the environment but also world economic prosperity, development and, more broadly, stability and security, the Foreign Affairs Council adopted a set of conclusions on 24 June to further mainstream climate diplomacy into EU and Member States' priority agendas. The aim is to help mobilising the necessary political will globally in support of an ambitious climate agreement in 2015 and more effective climate action on the ground.
The adoption of renewed Council conclusions on EU climate diplomacy and the lively debate among ministers underlined the high degree of consensus among MemberStates, the HR/VP and Commission on the relevance and urgency to strategically address climate change, including its security dimension. Indeed, climate change affects and increasingly shapes policy agendas and outcomes in the economic and security fields, a fact reflected in unequivocal policy reports of international institutions including the World Bank, IMF and the OECD but also, consistently, in reports of the intelligence and security community.
Global climate action is picking up speed as more than 90 countries representing all together more than 80% of global emissions, have already decided to undertake domestic emissions reductions. However, ministers noted with concern that today's global ambition level is still far from sufficient to limit global average temperature increases to less than 2°C from the pre-industrial level and avoid the devastating consequences of current emission trends, if left unchecked. More political lobbying for climate ambition is urgently needed.
For the complete article, please see European Union at the United Nations.
To fight illegal coca plantations and conflict actors’ income sources, Colombia’s president wants to loosen the ban on aerial glyphosate spraying. However, considering the dynamics of organised crime, the use of toxic herbicides will not only fail to achieve its aim, it will have many adverse effects for the environment and human health, fundamentally undermining ways to reach peace in the country. International cooperation and national policy-makers need to account for this peace spoiler.
As India grapples with the worsening impacts of climate change, the need to strengthen its adaptation efforts has become more significant than ever. Climate diplomacy and mainstreaming climate adaptation into the most vulnerable sectors could provide some solutions to overcoming barriers, such as the lack of sustainable funding.
“Climate Security risks will materialise in very different ways and forms, whether we talk about Lake Chad or about the Arctic, Bangladesh and the Small Island Developing States,” said the EU’s Ambassador to the United Nations in New York, Joao Vale de Almeida, in his opening remarks. “But for the EU, there is no doubt, as underlined in 2016 in our Global Strategy, and reaffirmed by the 28 Ministers of Foreign Affairs, that climate change is a major threat to the security of the EU and to global peace and security more generally,” he said.
The challenges facing the international community are growing while the willingness to cooperate seems to be waning. Foreign policy must help bridge this gap. One way to accomplish this is by pushing forward a major achievement of multilateralism: the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals. At a side event during the 2019 High-Level Political Forum, diplomats and policy experts discussed the role of foreign policy in the global sustainability architecture.