In context of a rapidly-changing political and security environment, the international climate and security community is having its second-ever/2nd-annual international gathering from Dec 5-6, 2016. The Planetary Security Conference, as part of the Planetary Security Initiative, is the second of four planned annual conferences aimed at strengthening the growing community of practice around climate change and security across the three Ds – defense, diplomacy and development.
The conferences and broader Planetary Security Initiative are being organized by a consortium of leading think tanks that includes The Center for Climate and Security, along with the Clingendael Institute, adelphi, the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies, the Institute for Environmental Security and the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
This year, the Center for Climate and Security is coordinating two of the conference’s twelve Working Groups:
- ‘Using foresight tools to manage systemic risk’ (also supported by the Skoll Global Threats Fund); and
- ‘Climate security risk management for the defense and intelligence communities’.
The conference is intended to go beyond hosting informative discussions and focus working group participants on building skills and implementing effective responses. It takes advantage of the multi-year structure of the Planetary Security Initiative to offer space for trialing suggested initiatives, feeding back on lessons learned and fine-tuning approaches to managing climate security risks. The other working groups are:
- Arctic: Perspectives on Climate Change and Food Insecurity in Nuvanut
- Horn of Africa: Natural Resource Management, Conflict and Resilience
- Middle East and North Africa: A Case for Regional Cooperation
- South Asia: Water Diplomacy, Security and Justice
- Food Security: Strengthening Resilience to Climate-fragility Risks
- Water Security: Conflicts and Tensions in the Past, Present and Future
- Building Resilience by Linking Climate Change Adaptation and Peacebuilding
- The Role of the EU in Climate Change and International Security
- Governance and Policy Tools: Translating Climate Security Policy into Practice
- The Economics of Planetary Security
The Planetary Security Initiative offers an organizing platform to better coordinate international efforts in this area; in-between the annual conferences, ongoing activity under the rubric of the Initiative will include strategic consultations at international events and regional dialogues, as well as publications and media outreach focused on issues and solutions. This gathering is happening at a critical moment when leaders must make important decisions about how best to manage the unavoidable and avoid the unmanageable risks associated with climate change.
Further details can be found at the Planetary Security Initiative website, and via the hashtag #PSC2016.
