Mistra Geopolitics II - Sustainable Development in a Changing Geopolitical Era

Geopolitical dynamics influence the global sustainability agenda, while sustainable transformation shapes international affairs in many ways. To drive an ambitious transformation and mitigate geopolitical risks in the process, decision makers need to understand the complex interactions of international relations, human security and environmental change in different regions of the world.

The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research (Mistra) is funding the second phase of the Mistra Geopolitics Programme, which researches these links and discusses them with key stakeholders from politics, society and business. The consortium consists of four Swedish universities and four leading environmental think tanks, including adelphi and E3G as international partners.

adelphi contributes to working strand on geopolitics of decarbonisation. In close cooperation with the Stockholm Environment Institute, which leads the consortium, adelphi is conducting a comparative study on how the phenomenon of "carbon lock-in" manifests in the extraction of fossil raw materials in Colombia and Nigeria and what role geopolitical discourses play in this. Both countries depend on the extraction and export of fossils and have been struggling with armed conflict. Conceptually, the analysis builds on adelphi's work from the first programme phase. Based on the findings, policy briefs and a guide for decision makers will be developed to help overcome the further entrenchment of fossil economies.