Beyond International Climate Negotiations: Climate Diplomacy from a Foreign Policy Perspective

Abstract

Flooding, droughts, a shift of climate zones, and increasingly frequent and intense extreme weather hazards will have serious economic and social consequences for entire regions. Countries with low adaptation capacities are likely to be hit the hardest by these climate changes, among them many of the so-called fragile states. To address this challenge, a new profile of climate diplomacy is evolving using the full range of available policies, including development cooperation, conflict prevention, and humanitarian assistance, as well as climate change adaptation and mitigation. The aim is to move from risk analysis of climate-related threats to preventive action. This also asks for ways to integrate climate change concerns into development, foreign, and security policies. Based on the discussions of major developments within the European Union, the United Nations and Germany, we outline some of the potentially key tasks for climate diplomacy in the future that are needed to complement the negotiations for a comprehensive, global climate agreement.