Research
The 11th meeting of The Hague Roundtable on Climate & Security was held online on 22 April 2021, co-hosted by the Water Peace and Security partnership (WPS) and the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Some 150 participants joined the 1.5-hour panel discussion on Building a transatlantic coalition for climate action on water and security challenges in countries of risk.
The meeting was moderated from the offices of The Hague Centre for Strategic Studies by Henk Ovink, Netherlands Special Envoy for International Water Affairs, who was joined by Hague Roundtable Organizer, Matt Luna, and meeting co-producers from WPS and the NL Ministry of Foreign Affairs (within Covid safety precautions). The event was held via Zoom, and participants shared their questions and comments with the moderator and panelists.
Video highlights from the online meeting:
Panelists and program content in this report:
- Selected observations and recommendations from the panel discussions (p.3)
- Laura Birkman, Senior Strategic Analyst at HCSS: introduction to the WPS and meeting (p.4)
- Carola van Rijnsoever, Director, Inclusive Green Growth, NL Ministry of Foreign Affairs: keynote remarks (p.5)
- Henk Ovink, NL Special Envoy for International Water Affairs (moderator): opening of panel sessions (p.5)
- Sharon Burke, Director, Resource Security Program, New America: Perspectives and potential in the United States, also on Biden Administration Leaders Summit on Climate (p.6)
- Benedetta Berti, Head of Policy Planning, NATO Office of the Secretary General: Climate as a point of transatlantic cooperation on defense and security risks, including latest NATO initiatives (p.7)
- Hinrich Thöelken, Climate Envoy, German Federal Foreign Office: German perspective on transatlantic cooperation on water, climate and peace (p.8)
- Tom Middendorp, Chair, International Military Council on Climate and Security: Inclusive cooperation on areas of risk from an international perspective – challenges and opportunities to security (p.9)
- Susanne Schmeier, WPS Project Leader & Associate Professor at IHE Delft: key takeaways and closing (p.10)
- Related publications on climate and security (p.11)
About the Water Peace and Security partnership:
The Water, Peace and Security partnership is designing innovative tools and services that can identify and support stakeholders to address water-related security risks. These innovative tools and services are able to show short term water shortage changes and impacts, and link them to social, political, economic, and hydrological factors, while supporting actors to take informed and conflict-sensitive action. This leads to evidence-based and inclusive actions that allow risks to be addressed, and human insecurity prevented or mitigated.
About The Hague Roundtable on Climate & Security:
The Roundtable supports global cooperation on climate risks to peace, sustainable development, and political stability. This independent forum facilitates a dialogue among representatives of governments, NGOs, education institutions, development organizations, military, private sector, and donor organizations – which may be stakeholders who do not exchange ideas and strategies on these threats. Participants are encouraged, in a less-formal setting, to voice: 1) their biggest challenges 2) concrete actions to be taken 3) what they can offer 4) what they need. The initiative is based in The Hague, a city known for peace and justice, and as a hub for global issues. Donor support and content contributions are invited to help future meetings connect adaptation action.
Contact:
Matt Luna, Hague Roundtable organizer: mluna@envirosecurity.org | Website: www.hagueroundtable.com | Twitter: @HagueRoundtable
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