Climate Diplomacy
Security
Global Issues
adelphi

How can we move from analysis to action on climate-security risks? The third annual Planetary Security Conference 2017 will take place on December 12th and 13th 2017 in The Hague and aims at providing new answers to this question. 

This November saw some reaffirmed commitments to global action on climate change when the international community came together in Bonn at COP23. But little progress was made on the major challenge of addressing climate and security risks. The Planetary Security Conference 2017 addresses this challenge, specifically focusing on the critical need to move from ‘analysis to action’. The conference, now in its third year, will bring together 350 high-level policy makers and experts from governments, international organisations, and NGOs to explore policies and actions on climate, foreign and security policy which are better able to address interlinked climate-security risks in a holistic way. The specific objective of the 2017 Planetary Security Conference is to facilitate exchange between local experts, policy-makers and international institutions and help us move from analysis to action on climate-security risks.

Keynote speakers at the PSC 2017 

  • Halbe Zijlstra, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands,
  • Erik Solheim, Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme and
  • Hasan al Janabi, Minister of Water Resources, Iraq

Launch of The Hague Declaration – an Agenda for Action

To encourage concrete actions beyond the discussions of the conference, the organisers adelphi, Clingendael Institute, Center for Climate and Security, Hague Centre for Strategic Studies und Stockholm International Peace Research Institute have drafted The Hague Declaration. The Declaration is the first of its kind on climate-security, and sets out an Agenda for Action on six key climate-security goals for the coming year. The Hague Declaration will be launched by the Dutch Foreign Minister at this year’s conference.

 

Spotlight on Lake Chad, Iraq and Mali; Focus on Migration and Urbanisation

This year, the Planetary Security Conference has a focus on Lake Chad region, Iraq and Mali - some of the world’s regions most affected by climate change and fragility. Insecure livelihoods, resource scarcity and violence from non-state armed actors are exacerbated by the impacts of climate change. One workshop organised by adelphi will discuss different approaches how to increase resilience against climate-fragility risks in the Lake Chad Basin. The workshop will put a particular focus on how to better link peacebuilding with climate change adaptation. 

The thematic focus of the Planetary Security Conference 2017 will be on the impacts of climate change on migration and urbanisation. Participants will have the opportunity to familiarise with innovative approaches and local experiences and to develop practical solutions on climate-related security risks in the context of migration and urbanisation.

The annual Planetary Security Conference was launched by The Netherlands’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2015. adelphi is part of a consortium of leading think tanks operating the conference. At the PSC 2017, adelphi will host workshops on the Lake Chad region, climate change and conflict sensitivity and the joint EU and UN Environment initiative on climate security.

The conference runs from 12-13th December. You can keep follow discussions at the conference on twitter using the hashtag #PSC2017.


At a briefing ahead of the COP25, foreign minister Heiko Maas called for higher ambition for the European Union, which should act as a role-model to encourage other states to boost their commitments to climate action. He further reiterated the importance of supporting multilateralism and an international climate regime that is able to withstand setbacks, such as the US withdrawal of the Paris Agreement.

Climate Change
Early Warning & Risk Analysis
Global Issues
adelphi

Climate change is increasingly challenging global security and undermining peacebuilding efforts. UN Environment and the European Union have joined forces to address these challenges. With the support of adelphi, they have developed a toolkit on ‘Addressing climate-fragility risks’. This toolkit facilitates the development and implementation of strategies, policies, and projects that seek to build resilience by linking climate change adaptation, peacebuilding, and sustainable livelihoods, focusing on the pilot countries Sudan and Nepal.

Climate Change
Security
Global Issues
European Security and Defence College (ESDC)

Nobody needs to be convinced that climate change affects our very existence and security. However, experts are interested to know how climate change affects security at a global level and what the EU can do in that regard. This was the main aim of the European Security and Defence College (ESDC) Climate Change and Security Course co-organised by the French Institute for Higher National Defence Studies (IHEDN) and adelphi, as part of the Climate Diplomacy initiative supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, which took place in Brussels from 21 to 23 October 2019.

Climate Change
Security
Sub-Saharan Africa
11 November, 2019

Shoring up Stability in Niger

Stella Schaller, Janani Vivekananda (adelphi) and Oli Brown (Chatham House)

The new study Shoring up Stability demonstrates, for the first time, how climate change interacts with conflict and exacerbates the humanitarian crisis in the Lake Chad region. To launch the report and discuss its findings with local policy-makers, experts and practitioners, the German Embassy in Niger, adelphi and CNESS co-organised a launch event on 24 October in Niamey. Insights from Niger point to the importance of investing in governance rather than technical fixes.