Scientific conference on the research requirements of climate change and security

Without timely and substantive action, climate change is likely to exceed the adaptive capacities of many societies and nations in the coming decades. But to what extent is climate change also a threat to peace and security? Increasingly, policy makers raise this question at national and international levels.

However, the scientific background on which the security implications of climate change are based on is vague, and little is known about the concrete regional and local social implications of climate change. Furthermore, research is needed to outline valid and reliable scenarios, which could serve as a basis for policy making.

Against this background, the Rheinland-Pfalz Bureau for Environmental Information (Landeszentrale für Umweltaufklärung) in cooperation with adelphi organised in December 2008 a research conference in Mainz. The aim of the conference was to identify the key research demands between climate change and security. The results of the conference were also included into the ongoing discussions on research funding related to climate change, peace and security that the German Federal Ministry for Research and Education (BMBF) has.