European flags in front of the Council of Europe, Strasbourg, Photo by Elwood J Blues

The EU Council recently issued “Conclusions on European climate diplomacy after COP21.” A significant portion of these conclusions focused specifically on the intersection of climate change, security, stability and migration. In the context of an unstable Middle East and North Africa, this is not surprising. However, it does suggest that all EU member states appreciate the intersection of climate change and state stability in a significant way.

The EU Council’s conclusions included a goal of producing a climate diplomacy action plan that would involve three main areas of focus, with the third very explicitly addressing concerns over “stability and migration”:  (more…)