12 September 2018

Germany in the UN Security Council: Climate and Security Revisited

Germany is set to hold a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council in 2019 and 2020 and has announced that “climate fragility” will be one of the key issues they wish to prioritise during their term. While the attention on security risks arising from climate change is now peaking, there is little willingness to address non-traditional security threats as such, in the Security Council. In keeping with the debate initiated by Sweden in July 2018 on the link between climate and security, Germany along with Nauru, set up a Group of Friends on Climate and Security, in August 2018, which twenty seven member states of the UN joined.

In a new policy brief, Susanne Dröge from the German Institute for International and Security Affairs (SWP), comments on the challenges Germany will face as the issue of climate change comes to a head. She stresses that Germany should rely on disseminating and sharing of expertise that can better inform debates and attempt to connect to the UNSC’s other developmental agendas that bring climate and development under the same umbrella such as the SDG’s or the Paris Agreement. As they tread a fine line between ambition and realistic outcomes, Dröge in her piece emphasises the necessity for Germany to (a) build a strong alliance within the UNSC, (b) have sufficient diplomatic resources to follow up and (c) be flexible in order to be a strong international partner.

Click here to read the brief.

Photo Courtesy: United Nations Photo - https://www.unmultimedia.org/photo/detail.jsp?id=685/685779&key=143&query=german%20flag%20un%20flag&lang=&sf=