Challenges Annual Forum 2021 – Climate and Environmental Security

There is a growing recognition that climate change affects missions’ mandate delivery, the ability to support peace and security, and most critically host communities’ efforts to build resilient and peaceful societies. Understanding climate and security risks will increasingly have to shape the debate on ongoing and future peace operations. Adapting to these environmental challenges could provide UN missions with new entry points for peacekeeping and peacebuilding.

The 14th Annual Forum, organised by Challenges Forum International Secretariat (CFIS) together with their co-hosting partner German Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF), centred its dialogues around three key themes on climate and security: 

• Analysis: Integrating climate risks into analysis and planning
• Opportunities: Developing a people-centred approach to climate security opportunities
• Partnerships: Exploring new avenues for collaboration

Janani Vivekananda, Head of Programme Climate Diplomacy and Security at adelphi, presented Weathering Risk and gave a keynote speech on 'Climate Projections 2030/40 & their Potential Impact on Peace and Stability' during the opening session on Day 1 of the Forum. 

Lukas Rüttinger, Senior Adviser at adelphi, participated as a key expert on Day 2 of the Forum as part of a Working group on 'Integrating climate risks into analysis and planning'. 

The opening and closing sessions on day 1 and 3 were live streamed for a wider external audience.