Report: Climate protection also contributes to international security

The German Advisory Council on Global Change (WBGU) today presented the Federal Government with its new flagship report "Climate Change as a Security Risk". This WBGU report is an extensive risk analysis of the possible impacts of climate change on international security. According to the report, unchecked climate change can have negative impacts on international security even in 15 to 30 years. Increased water shortages, crop failures and extreme events can lead to considerable social and political upheavals. This would further intensify existing threats to international security, for example through weak states, conflicts over resource distribution and migration. Climate-related weakening of the global economy can also threaten international security.

Federal Development Minister Heidemarie Wieczorek-Zeul emphasised the impacts of climate change on the people in the poorest developing countries: "The people in Africa and the poorest regions of Asia in particular are suffering most as a result of climate change. And yet they are least responsible for it. We will stand by the people in the developing countries; we cannot afford to wait until there are 200 million environmental refugees. We will resolutely advance climate protection measures and help to avert the worst impacts of climate change on man. If we do not succeed, millions of people will flee in particular to regions in Africa and Asia where there is still fertile land and water. It is not yet possible to predict the potential scale of future conflicts over resource distribution", stated Minister Wieczorek-Zeul. A range of WBGU recommendations are already being implemented by the Federal Development Ministry (BMZ), for example in the field of renewable energies and the protection of tropical rainforests. Germany is currently supporting energy projects in 45 countries on a scale of around 1.6 billion euro. "Renewable energies are the key to sustainable and viable development, to climate protection, peace and security. In the past, wars have been waged over access to oil. But wars will never be waged over access to the sun", she continued.

"Unchecked climate change can intensify conflicts even in the first half of this century, thus threatening international security", noted Michael Müller, Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Environment Ministry (BMU). "This clearly shows that climate protection is no longer only a branch of environmental policy. Climate change will alter the situation in all policy areas. The WBGU makes this very clear in its report for security and foreign policy. Ambitious climate protection is therefore also a contribution to international security. This strengthens the German government’s resolve to continue in its frontrunner role in the field of international climate protection both in and with Europe, and at the G8 summit in Heiligendamm. Over the coming weeks and months, resolute action is crucial in order to initiate comprehensive negotiations on the post-2012 international climate protection regime at the next UN conference in Bali."

At the handover of the report, Gernot Erler, Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office (AA) stated: "Today, environmental and climate policy are an elementary part of security policy. This also includes our energy foreign policy, since energy supply is also a security policy issue of the future. We have taken the initiative as holders of the EU Council Presidency and agreed ambitious climate protection goals. Now the G8 and major newly industrialising countries have to take on greater common responsibility in Heiligendamm and Bali."

Michael Thielen, State Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), highlighted the huge technological potential of German industry: "With the launch of a high-tech strategy for climate protection, Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan has laid the foundation for new partnerships between industry, the scientific sector and policymakers. The aim of these partnerships is to mitigate climate change." The BMBF has earmarked 255 million euro for climate change research over the next three years. These funds are to be used for three goals: firstly, an even better understanding of climate change; secondly, strategies to mitigate climate change and thirdly, technologies that can help cope with unavoidable climate change. "We support the negotiations on a new climate regime which provides a framework for us to help regions affected by climate change to adapt", noted State Secretary Thielen.

Further information:

• Report: World in Transition - Climate Change as a Security Risk