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United Nations: Germany initiates Group of Friends on Climate and Security
On August 1 2018, Germany, together with the Pacific state Nauru, officially established the Group of Friends on Climate and Security in the United Nations. This is to bring the topic into even sharper focus on the United Nations political Agenda.
The Federal Government is implementing the announcement made by Foreign Minister Maas in New York promising increased engagement by Germany in this area, together with island states threatened by climate change.
New Group of Friends
On August 1 2018, a total of 27 United Nations member states joined together to form the new Group of Friends on Climate and Security with the aim of cooperating to develop solutions for the impact of climate change on security policy, raise public awareness and boost the involvement of the United Nations in this area.
So far, states directly affected by the issue and particularly committed countries have come together in the Group of Friends, co-chaired by Germany and Nauru. All the regional groups of the United Nations are represented.
Climate and security – a critical nexus
The consequences of climate change threaten to deprive people of their livelihood and thereby become a danger to international security. For example, rising sea levels are threatening small island states and the growing frequency and intensity of natural disasters are causing food and drinking water shortages.
Monitoring these consequences of climate change and addressing them at an early stage is an important goal of German foreign policy. As well as tackling the causes of climate change, possible approaches include strengthening international disaster prevention measures, ensuring the availability of efficient humanitarian assistance and creating conflict resolution mechanisms.
From January 2019, Germany will once again be a member of the United Nations Security Council. Here, too, Germany intends to promote more strongly the interface of climate and security as part of its activities to combat climate change.
The founding members of the Group of Friends on Climate and Security comprise:
Asia-Pacific: Bangladesh, Fiji, Kiribati, Maldives, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Nauru (co-chair)
Africa: Ghana, Namibia, Seychelles
Latin America/Caribbean: the Dominican Republic, Mexico
Eastern Europe: Poland, Ukraine
Western Europe and others: Belgium, France, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, Germany (co-chair).
© FFO