Food is inexorably linked to many areas of policy – from climate change to sustainable development to conflict to migration. The EU has become a major player in ensuring global food security, both through its engagement in sustainable development and humanitarian assistance programmes. Daniele Fattibene argues that it should therefore develop its food diplomacy under the aegis of the European External Action Service (EEAS) and its security policy.

In the Middle East, the consequences of climate change are already a reality of life. The region is one of the most water-stressed areas in the world, the average temperature is rising faster than elsewhere, and a massive reduction in rainfall is also expected for the coming years. Adding to the conflicts and quarrels – ranging from the Israeli–Palestinian conflict to Syria and Iraq as well as to rivalries between Iran and the Gulf states – access to and use of natural resources act as yet another crisis amplifier in the region: water is as important here as land ownership and as precious as access to oil.

As US puts pressure on NATO members to increase defence spending, EU foreign affairs chief argues fighting climate change prevents instability.

 

At the annual Munich Security Conference, the UN’s top climate change official UNFCCC Executive Secretary Patricia Espinosa gave an opening address at a discussion on human security and climate security. In her address, she called for a reframing of the narrative around climate change, given its far-ranging implications for global peace and stability.

In the event of the US leaving the Paris Agreement what will be the reaction of the other signatories? Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States has raised serious concerns about whether the US will continue to work with its international partners on climate change. At this critical juncture, chinadialogue asks experts from China, the US, and India, how countries might ratchet up their efforts in the event of limited US action or an effort to withdraw from the agreement entirely.