Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
This topic is about the impact of climate change on European Union (EU)
security policy. The focus is on actual policy rather than merely outlining possible
future scenarios. Many topics and articles have been written assessing how far cli-
mate change needs to be conceived as a security question. But few have attempted
to chronicle in detail how governments are recon
guring their geo-strategy in
response. The excellent volumes covering the EU
s role in international climate
diplomacy still tend to omit any direct analysis of its role more speci
'
cally in rela-
tion to climate security.
1
Moreover, while the extensive literature on climate
change has incorporated a focus on climate-induced con
ict and associated debates
over adaptation measures, this topic goes beyond this standard focus to assess the
broader international relations of climate change. I depart from the view that cli-
mate change can no longer be deliberated as a separate area of policy but must be
incorporated into the more mainstream debates pertinent to EU common foreign
and security policy (CFSP). I ask: what in the broadest sense is the EU
'
s
'
climate
security
policy?
The EU and its member states have formally acknowledged the broader political
rami
'
cations of climate change for over a decade. Of course, the Union is widely
seen to have taken up the core, mainstream dimensions of the climate agenda with
more serious intent than most other countries and regions. Yet, I
nd that the
tangible, climate-sensitive changes to EU
foreign and security
policies may have many
admirable aspects but are not yet extensive. Moreover, changes that have been
made exhibit a mix of di
erent strategic philosophies that detract from the clarity
and e
s key contribution to on-going ana-
lytical debates is to look at the level of concrete
policy
adaption; in doing so it
ectiveness of EU initiatives. This topic
'
nds
that while many aspects of EU foreign policies have begun to change they do not
yet accord
'
climate security
'
unequivocal or su
cient priority.
Vital questions
The de
nition of climate security remains
uid and contested. It is de
ned here as
the use of all means
to
address the security-related challenges presented by climate change. It is widely
agreed that climate security requires a broad de
-
diplomatic,
nancial, economic, military and technical
-
nition that encompasses human,
internal and international security.
2
This topic draws from the widely advocated
'
nition which argues that climate change essentially chal-
lenges the interstices between markets, resource management, military power and
human security.
3
In this sense, climate security is categorically not synonymous
with militarisation but understood in a broad sense: climate change is likely to a
nexus approach
'
,ade
ect
traditional, defence-oriented de
nitions of security, but also the broader determi-
nants of stability such as patterns of economic development, alliance-building, the
