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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A recently published paper by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has focused on the under-researched topic of how climate change impacts may affect violence in South and Southeast Asia. Titled “Climate change and violent conflict: Sparse evidence from South Asia and South East Asia”, the report highlights how little work has been done in looking at climate change and its possible impact on security in the most densely populated regions on the planet.
Every day humanitarian aid workers help millions of people around the world, regardless of who they are and where they are. With expert knowledge and support, humanitarian workers are well placed to create a better environment for the people that they serve as well as for themselves.
The pro-coal position of Poland’s energy ministry has thrown sand into the country’s climate diplomacy as COP24 president-designate Michał Kurtyka intensifies his diplomatic tour ahead of the United Nation’s annual climate meeting later this year in Katowice.
As governments take stock of the adequacy of the Paris Agreement, willingness to raise the level of ambition will depend significantly on confidence that a variety of promises are being kept. Many of these relate to fundamental commitments around international solidarity. A solidarity of which we are in sore need today, on far too many fronts.