The Climate Change Conference in Doha has illustrated once more the time consuming process to negotiate an agreement. Further steps have to be taken to slow down climate change. As part COP 18 in Doha, an event held by the Federal Foreign Office looked at the joint steps Europe could take with countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Representatives of the Federal Foreign Office, the European Commission, the ASEAN Secretariat and other stakeholders discussed how the negative consequences of climate change such as flooding and storms can be overcome in joint strategies. The talks were moderated by adelphi's Managing Director, Alexander Carius.
Laurence Graff from the European Commission's Directorate General for Climate Action emphasised the importance of alliances for an ambitious agreement on global climate protection, and stressed that these require the systematic practice of climate diplomacy. Positive experiences in transboundary water cooperation could be further developed in this connection with partners in the Asia-Pacific region. The discussion also highlighted the fact that issues such as migration and water shortage have so far not been sufficiently dealt with in international climate negotiations, and further appraoches in climate diplomacy should therefore be developed.
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Ten years after committing to phase out fossil fuel subsidies, G20 countries still subsidise coal, oil and gas to the tune of around USD 150 billion annually. Peer review of fossil fuel subsidies help push the G20 forward on this issue, but these reviews need to be followed by action. Subsidy reforms could free up resources that could be channeled back into government programmes and on accelerating a clean energy transition.
Adapting to climate change and strengthening resilience are becoming priorities for the international community – however, they require greater ambition in climate policy. 107 governments and numerous international organisations have endorsed a call for action on raising ambition at the United Nations Climate Change Summit on 23rd September 2019. Following the summit, the Global Commission on Adaptation will begin its Year of Action to meet the climate challenges ahead. The Year of Action is here to accelerate climate adaptation around the world, to improve human well-being and to drive more sustainable economic development and security.
A new form of organized crime has recently been emerging in the Amazon: illegal mining. Miners fell trees, use high-grade explosives for blasting soils and dredge riverbeds. But the impacts go beyond environmental damage, bringing with it a slew of other social problems. Peace researcher Adriana Abdenur urges policymakers to improve coordination and argues that diplomacy may help prevent further conflicts, corruption and crime.
Access to water can be a critical resource for cooperation, but also a source of tension. Identifying risks before their onset is crucial for the efficiency and economic feasibility of intervention strategies, but how can these risks be measured? To address this conundrum, adelphi together with several partners convened a side-event at World Water Week, which connected experts developing analytical tools to policy makers in the water sector.