.

Back to Overview
Climate Change
Climate Diplomacy
Security
Global Issues
16 November, 2016

Global Climate and Security Consensus Statement

Planetary Security Initiative

Now that the at times turbulent US election has past, attention must return to cooperating on the global challenges that affect us all, like climate change which 23 high profile military leaders and experts from around the world have today labelled as a threat to peace and stability. In a joint Global Climate and Security Consensus Statement issued by the Climate Security Working Group, the signatories have called for world leaders to address climate risk in their national, regional and international security planning.

Signatories range from Rear Admiral David Titley, Ph.D., U.S. Navy (ret) Former Oceanographer of the Navy Professor of Practice, Pennsylvania State University to Lieutenant General Tariq Waseem Ghazi (ret) Pakistan and former Dutch diplomat, Alexander Verbeek, who founded the Institute for Planetary Security. The Institute is involved in an annual conference in The Hague on December 5 and 6 which will explore how to build peace and cooperation in times of climate change and global environmental challenges.

The Climate Security Working Group - International is a non-partisan collective of experts who work together to ensure governments are responding to the risk posed to peace and security by climate change.

The statement comes after the Obama Administration launched a presidential memo in September which requires the National Security Council complete an "Action Plan" to address climate security by around December 21 and follow up with an implementation plan by the end of February. This move is considered to be one of the most comprehensive responses to climate and security issues of a national government so far, and comes off the back of the G7's work in the area. At the Paris Climate Summit last year, a "Climate Displacement Task Force" was established to draw up recommendations on measures "to avert, minimise and address displacement related to the adverse effects of climate change." But of course there is much more to do with very few countries having actually incorporate climate change risk into their defense strategies.

Read the statement. 

 

This article originally appeared on the Planetary Security Initiative's website.

The Planetary Security Conference, co-organised by adelphi and other leading think tanks, is meant to address the climate-security nexus and will take place from 5-6 December in The Hague.  

Source:
Planetary Security Initiative
Related Reading 
Planetary Security Conference 2016

How can climate-induced risks become an integral part of foreign and security policy? The Planetary Security Conference, organised by adelphi and other leading think tanks, is meant to deliver answers to this question and will take place from 5-6 December in The Hague.  

Read more
Planetary Security Conference 2015 in Videos

Acknowledging that climate change is a global threat to security in the 21st century, the Dutch government has convened an international conference on Planetary Security on 2-3 November 2015 in the Hague. The aim of the conference was to facilitate strategic exchange on existing foreign policy and security architecture.

Read more
Climate Change
Security
Europe
05 February, 2019

France includes climate change as key feature of its defence activities

Planetary Security Initiative

Initiated in 2015, the French Ministry for the Armed Forces organized the first international conference “Defence and climate: what are the stakes?”. Since then, the Ministry has been constantly adapting and developing its capacity of anticipation.

Climate Diplomacy
Security
Global Issues
30 January, 2019

Security Council debates how climate disasters threaten international peace and security

Benjamin Pohl and Stella Schaller, adelphi

On 25 January 2019, the UN Security Council held an open debate to discuss the security implications of climate-related disaster events. The meeting, initiated by the Dominican Republic, underscored the global nature of climate-related disasters. Most speakers highlighted the need for better climate risk management as an important contribution to safeguarding international peace and security. The debate marks the beginning of a year in which climate security ranks high on the UN’s agenda.

Climate Diplomacy
Global Issues
25 January, 2019

Climate change to return to UN Security Council agenda under Dominican Republic presidency

Planetary Security Initiative

Today, Friday 25th January 2019, the UN Security Council will hold an open debate addressing the impacts of climate-related disasters on international peace and security (at 4pm CET and 10am EST). President Danilo Medina of the Dominican Republic will chair the meeting, which will also include the participation of several member states at ministerial level.

Adaptation & Resilience
Climate Change
Co-Benefits
Development
Global Issues
24 January, 2019

Resource Nexus Approaches Can Inform Policy Choices

Stacy D. VanDeveer, Raimund Bleischwitz and Catalina Spataru, New Secuirty Beat

The unabated growth of natural resource consumption raises risks that we will outstrip the capacities of ecosystems and governance institutions. At the same time, to achieve important global goals related to poverty alleviation, public health, equity and economic development such as those embodied in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we will simultaneously need more resources and better management of natural resources everywhere.