Tackling climate risks together

The focus of the first of four dialogue forums on the topic of climate change was on the southern Mediterranean region. The dialogue took place on 30 May at the Federal Foreign Office.

01/06/2011

In cooperation with adelphi, the KlimaCampus Research Group “Climate Change and Security” (CLISEC) at the University of Hamburg, and the Institute for Peace and Security Research Hamburg (IFSH), the Federal Foreign Office invited experts from the region to the forum.

The upheavals in the countries of the southern Mediterranean area are not just political. These countries are also among those that will be most affected by climate change. Water scarcity and diminishing agricultural production combined with quickly growing populations pose great challenges for the region. The effects of migration movements are hard to predict.External actors can provide crucial support for the further development of regional cooperation mechanisms. In particular, a strengthened commitment on the part of the EU and its member states could have positive effects.

The region might receive a boost from the strengthening of sustainable agricultural production and from the generation and use of renewable energies. At the same time, the political upheavals in the region also present new opportunities for cooperative and innovative strategies for adapting to climate change.