Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
of climate security.
13
Also in October, the Commission proposed to ring-fence 20
per cent of the 2014
19 EU budget for climate questions across all policy areas;
this would include external relations resources being deployed far more mean-
ingfully for the geopolitical dimensions of climate change. The European Council
agreed this target in February 2013.
14
The EAS began working with DevCo, the
Commission
-
s development agency, to decide how to take forward this commit-
ment, with the aim of injecting some degree of political focus into the way that the
new funds were to be deployed.
At the end of June 2013 the foreign a
'
airs council adopted conclusions on cli-
mate diplomacy and security, together with a new External Action Service re
ec-
tion paper. The fact that the issue of climate diplomacy was included in a foreign
a
ect
the importance attached now by foreign ministers to this longer-term agenda. The
conclusions and re
airs council packed with so many immediate emergency issues was said to re
ection paper together provided a new high-level political
impetus and a number of operational commitments. The foreign ministers
'
con-
clusions boldly opine that e
ective climate action is a
'
necessary condition for
peace and security
. They commit ministers to an annual review of progress made
in injecting foreign and security policy parameters into climate change strategies.
The re
'
in having
its mainstream diplomacy dovetail with climate objectives, especially through a
reinvigorated GDN.
15
Another ministerial in July 2013 focused on water chal-
lenges, with the aim of enhancing EU engagement in the Mekong, Nile and other
worsening water-related tensions.
16
Some of the momentum from 2008/2010
appeared to be returning, through these and other new policy documents on
adaptation, geo-economics and climate, and climate migration, all detailed in sub-
sequent chapters. At this stage, the EU also stepped up e
ection paper claims that the EU is now much more
'
joined-up
'
orts to promote a new
UN discussion on the topic, set for September 2014, with the backing of the UN
secretary general.
The June 2013 council conclusions committed the EU to mainstream climate
security in all key external dialogues. In April 2013 the Group of Eight (G8) adopted
a new focus on climate security.
17
Climate security dialogue deepened in particular
within EU
-
US relations from 2012. European diplomats undertook an extensive
outreach campaign in 2013 in the US
as well as through Washington
events designed to explore how to incorporate climate change into transatlantic
security cooperation. The EU and South Africa inched forward with a
'
heartland
'
rst climate
dialogue that explicitly incorporated security questions. The EU has since then gra-
dually begun to inject a more political edge into its various bilateral climate dialo-
gues. Insiders insist this is particularly the case with Brazil and China. The China
dialogue was raised to ministerial level in 2010 and given a
500 million boost at the
end of 2011. A new sustainable urbanisation initiative between the EU and China
€
