Climate Change, Global Security, and the OSCE

Climate change and its implications for security are increasingly under dis-cussion at an international level. The UN Security Council has been addressing the links between climate change and security since 2007. At a national level, states are increasingly recognizing climate change as a security concern. The 2030 Agenda, with its focus on peace as one of its five pillars – people, planet, prosperity, peace, and partnerships – and a dedicated Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) on Climate Action (Goal 13), demonstrates the interaction be-tween sustainable development and climate change. In the OSCE, the discussion on climate change started at the same time as it did in the UN, and was referred to in a number of OSCE Ministerial Council Decisions and Declarations. Furthermore, the links between climate change and security were dis-cussed in various OSCE forums and addressed through dedicated projects, led by the Office of the Coordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) and implemented together with its international partners and the OSCE field operations. This contribution provides an overview of the potential security implications of climate change, the international debate on this topic, and the OSCE response.



Author(s):Esra Buttanri
Publisher(s):Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy at the University of Hamburg / IFSH (Ed.)
Place Published:Baden-Baden
Date / Journal Vol. No. OSCE Yearbook 2019
Pages:Pages 215 - 230


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