Enhance Climate Security Literacy in Peace Operations

Challenges Forum participated in the Inaugural Climate Change and Security Workshop to establish the Climate Security Association of Canada (CSAC), 13 and 14 March.

More specifically, Challenges Forum International Secretariat’s Director Pernilla Rydén was a panellist at the roundtable: Climate change and the future of intervention(s). The participants explored the effects of climate change on security, development, humanitarian, and military operations. It was concluded that climate change will have an effect on how organizations, such as the UN, AU, EU and NATO, respond to conflicts both through peace operations and peacebuilding.

In her remarks, Pernilla Rydén focused on the Partnerships’ main findings and key takeaways from the Challenges Annual Forum 2021. as well as the following Climate Security related events at EPON Week in New York, and Stockholm Forum, May 2022. Among other things, it was concluded that we need to invest in Peace and not in Risk, meaning that funds and efforts need to be put in working with host authorities and the population where the field mission is deployed.

Hence, the UN needs to improve the ‘literacy’ on Climate Security as a driver of conflict. UN and other organizations also need to be deliberately inclusive and establish the right mechanisms, including in mandating, operationalizing the Climate Security Mechanism and deploying Climate Security Advisors. She further stressed the importance of establishing solid and viable partnerships, both within the UN system, between UN and regional-, subregional organisations as well as in public-private partnerships.

Pernilla Rydén concluded that in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal on Climate action and emission reduction, it is important to leave a positive legacy through “greening the Blue,” mitigating the footprint, to avoid negative consequences of the field mission. They also need to hand over renewable energy projects such as solar panels as well as waste management recycling stations etc.

The Launch of the Climate Security Association of Canada (CSAC) was supported by Centre Franco Paix of the Raoul Dandurand Chair in Diplomatic and Strategic Studies, UQAM, North American and Arctic Defence and Security Network and Centre for Security and Crisis Governance (CRITIC), RMC Saint-Jean.