On 27 February 2018, as reported in Council conclusions 6125/18, the EU Foreign Affairs Council adopted conclusions on climate diplomacy. It marks the formal signaling of EU’s Foreign Ministers to make climate security a priority...
The traditionally unassuming role played by security organizations in climate deliberations is being turned upside-down. As climate threats undermine global security, military agencies and reactive bodies must look at climate change as more than just an environmental issue. We spoke to Jan Broeks, Director General of the International Military Staff at NATO, at the Planetary Security Conference 2017 about NATO’s role in this shifting paradigm.
The UN Security Council has identified climate change as a driver of conflict across West Africa and the Sahel, in a statement published last Tuesday.
The destruction caused by Cyclone Ockhi in South Asia portends what a ‘climate-changed’ world has in store for humankind, especially taking into consideration the adverse human security implications of such disasters that have to be addressed urgently. Dhanasree Jayaram argues that planetary security in this context can be best ensured at the regional level.
The Lake Chad region experiences a multitude of crises: lack of employment and education opportunities, resource scarcity and violent conflict, all exacerbated by the effects of climate change, making the Lake Chad region Africa’s largest humanitarian emergency. At the margins of the Planetary Security Conference 2017, we spoke with the independent conflict adviser Chitra Nagarajan about the region’s future.
To avoid dangerous climate change, we need engagement from across the political spectrum. Our editorial team has asked Adam Corner, expert on climate communications, how to reach out to traditionally disengaged audiences. In his blog, he explains how to “talk climate” and build bridges rather than walls.
Last month, the UN Security Council hosted another meeting on climate change. Despite this positive step, in order to really tackle climate-related security risks, the Council needs to be reshaped into a more capable body, as a recent journal article by Conca et al. points out. In our review, we examine the authors’ attempt to steer the discussion away from the bipartisan impasse and towards the UN Security Council’s potential for becoming a key player on climate issues.
In the advent of taking over the next G20 presidency, Argentina lays out its G20 agenda for 2018. Entitled 'sustainable development', the agenda seeks clarity in the reduction of emissions and emphasizes the ratification of the commitments made in the Paris Agreement. Yet, the spotlight is being pointed to Argentina's own climate action efforts.
The UN Security Council is hosting an Arria meeting on ‘Preparing for the security implications of rising temperatures’ on 15 December at the UN headquarters in New York. As climate-induced security threats have become more pressing, the highest body of global governance is slowly taking up the issue again.
This year’s Planetary Security Conference set a concrete agenda for action on climate and security with the launch of The Hague Declaration. The six-point plan, which has been signed by almost 80 high profile experts in the field, from ministers to ambassadors, mayors, generals and academics, seeks to move the agenda from knowledge to action.