The New EU Peace Mediation Strategy: A Step in the Right Direction on Climate Issues

Publisher: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute

Author(s): Florian Krampe and Elise Remling

Date: 2020

Topics: Conflict Prevention, Dispute Resolution/Mediation, Governance, Peace Agreements

Countries: Somalia

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With two new documents, the European Union (EU) has officially recognized the relevance of climate change to peace mediation. This is a welcome and timely development, but the language used still does not put enough emphasis on the human dimension of climate-related security risks.

In line with the evidence

The new Council Conclusions on EU Peace Mediation, published on 7 December, calls for EU peace mediation efforts to ‘take into account the effect of climate change on peace and security EN-US" lang="EN-US">’, and for climate-related risks to be ‘consistently considered in conflict-prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding strategies.’ The External Action Service (EEAS) working document Concept on EU Peace Mediation, published a few days earlier, calls on the EU to ‘systematically consider climate and environmental factors and risks in mediation engagements and related conflict analysis’. It also recognizes that environmental and natural resource issues ‘may create entry-points for mediation and dialogue’.