Representatives of the European Commission services, the European External Action Service (EEAS), and the European Defence Agency (EDA) met today with their US Administration counterparts from i.a. the Department of State, the Department of Defense, the National Security Council, and USAID at Directors’ level to discuss the increasing challenges posed by climate change and environmental degradation to peace, security and defence (see annex with the principal participants).
Given the unprecedented threat climate change and environmental degradation represent to global peace and security, this informal dialogue provided a platform to discuss the growing global risks and impacts of the climate and nature crises from a ‘whole of government’ perspective. The EU’s integrated approach aims to address this most complex of challenges through coordinated engagement of EU support to development cooperation, humanitarian aid, climate and environmental action, migration, energy security, to civilian-military missions and the evolution of military infrastructures.
Participants agreed that it is imperative that the climate and security nexus is fully integrated into their respective external action, particularly in the most climate-vulnerable states and regions. Effective action means climate and environment analysis is integrated into planning and decision-making to ensure an evidence-based approach and building strong international partnerships.
Participants agreed that the discussion was a key opportunity for valuable exchanges across different areas of expertise in this broad policy domain. They agreed to explore the possibility of establishing regular EU-US dialogues on these issues at technical level, to stimulate a policy cross-fertilisation and complement existing fora for dialogue.
The discussion reflects the EU aim to reinforce international partnerships as one pillar of the EU Joint Communication of 28 June 2023: “A new outlook on the climate and security nexus”. Strengthened international cooperation between the EU and partners such as the US is critical to effective action to counter the effects of climate change on global peace and security.
