adelphi convened panel on foreign policy challenges of climate change in the Pacific

What are geopolitical challenges of climate change impacts in the Pacific Islands region and how should we address them? How would a regional vision towards climate resilience and sustainable growth look like? A high-ranking panel addressed these questions at the UN SIDS Conference in Samoa.

The Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) further confirms findings of current and future climate-related drivers of risk for small islands. The Pacific Islands States have identified climate change as a severe threat and have decided to work together with international partners to fight against and adapt to climate change. Pacific leaders and governments are working on effective strategies on mitigation and adaptation to climate change and on making their voices heard in the global loss and damage debate.

Against this backdrop, adelphi convened a high-ranking panel at this year's UN Conference on Small Island Developing States:

Climate Diplomacy - foreign policy challenges in the context of climate change in the Pacific Islands region
September 3, 2014
17:00 - 18:30 pm
Venue: CR 2, Faleata Sports Complex

The side event has embedded climate change related risks in the broader context of regional and global governance, institutional development and significant geopolitical changes. Climate change triggers water, energy and food security in the Pacific Islands region and thus has major implications for regional stability. By bringing together foreign policy makers and climate policy experts from the region, this side event will explore foreign policy perspectives on climate change in the Pacific Islands region.

The side event has jointly been organised by adelphi, the University of the South Pacific (USP), the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP) and the IPCC. This event was financially supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.

See the side event programme as well as the accompanying flyer for procedural information.

For further information on the UN SIDS Conference, see the official conference website.