On 28 January 2020, the German Federal Foreign Office held a conference in Berlin to mark the launch of the Green Central Asia initiative. Opened by Foreign Minister Heiko Maas and the High Representative of the EU Josep Borrell, it brought together the foreign ministers of the Central Asian states, as well as more than 250 participants to discuss the climate and security challenges facing Central Asia—and how the Green Central Asia initiative can contribute to addressing them.

This report assesses how peacebuilding programming can produce adaptation benefits, so that interventions simultaneously contribute to reduced intercommunal conflict and strengthened resilience to shocks. It draws on the evaluations of programs that included peacebuilding and climate change adaptation to synthesize lessons learned, develop and test a theory of change, and offer recommendations integrating approaches that consider and address compound climate-fragility risks.

Evidence from existing programs shows that climate change adaptation interventions can contribute to peacebuilding, and peacebuilding can have significant adaptation benefits.

This overview explains why climate change is a matter of concern for international peace and security and how the UN system should deal with climate-related security risks. It poses and answers seven questions.