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.
For this article, please see adelphi.
In an increasingly urbanised world, global resilience cannot be achieved without cities. Separating a local from a national or international sustainability issue is increasingly difficult – be it climate change, migration, or economic development.
Climate diplomacy needs to release itself from the shackles of ‘systemic’ politics in order to achieve a climate agenda that is driven by human security interests, including equity and justice, and strengthen climate change initiatives at local, national and regional levels, in order to bridge the gap caused by the slow pace of progress at the international level.
Leaving No One Behind is the mantra of the 2019 UN-Water campaign. Foreign policy agendas of countries should apply the principle and integrate the voices of the most marginalised into the decision-making process, argues Dhanasree Jayaram.
With climate change increasingly being seen as a security issue, we ask what role the United Nations Security Council could and should play. To answer this question, we are joined on the Climate Diplomacy Podcast by UN expert and Chatham House Associate Fellow Oli Brown. In this podcast, Oli explains some of the challenges that the UN Security Council has had in tackling climate change and outlines the prospects for action in the future.