Climate Diplomacy Podcast

If you work with climate, environment, development, humanitarian assistance or adjacent areas, you have certainly come across this particular type of conflict. But is climate change and environmental degradation really to blame? Join our hosts, Raquel Munayer and Alexandra Steinkraus, in a chat that looks into the post-colonial elements influencing conflicts between farmers and herders, where clim...

In this episode, we are joined by Khouloud Ben Mansour, African Youth Ambassador for Peace with the African Union for North Africa and activist for women's and children's rights from Tunisia, to discuss migration, youth and gender in North African and beyond. We cover drivers of migration in the region, gender-based risks, and how to move beyond beyond giving marginalised groups a seat at the tabl...

In this episode, Christianne Zakour, Advocate for Environmental Governance and Climate Justice, joins us to discuss shared challenges amongst Small Island Developing States, the potential for more interregional knowledge sharing and climate justice. She shares insights from her work in the Caribbean and the Caribbean Tree Planting Project and her recent term as a steering committee member of the U...

Join our hosts, Raquel Munayer and Alexandra Steinkraus, for a conversation on how maladaptation makes communities even more vulnerable, rather than less, to climate change. Insights from Afghanistan, Colombia, Mali and the Pacific illustrate ways that negligence and poorly planned policies can lead to increased climate security risks, strengthened criminal networks, bolstered recruitment and supp...

Reporting on the climate and environmental crises is increasingly a risky endeavour – even more so where insecurity and conflict are present. Environmental Journalist and Consultant Peter Schwartzstein spoke about the perils of covering the climate-conflict nexus in places like Syria and Iraq, why concise narratives matter for boosting action, and what he is up to in his upcoming book ‘The Heat an...

Join us for a conversation with our Heads of Programme (HoPs) for Climate Diplomacy and Security , Janani Vivekananda and Benjamin Pohl, as we reflect on highlights from 2022 – from the launch of the Climate for Peace Initiative at BCSC 2022 to the establishment of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP27 – and identify developments to watch (and be hopeful about) for 2023. All eyes are on actions that w...

In this episode, we speak with Hafsa Maalim, one of the panel discussants at the 29 November UNSC meeting on climate, peace and security, to discuss the evolution of the understanding of Climate, Peace and Security (CPS) in the Security Council and how increased awareness of how climate, security and peacebuilding interact can offer a basis for additional tools and entry points to better achieve i...

In this episode, Alina Viehoff joins one of our hosts, Alexandra Steinkraus, to discuss all things BCSC . As members of the organising team, together they discuss the key takeaways—from the need for better financing to the importance of inclusivity, equity and diversity, the Launch of the Climate for Peace Initiative and how to channel this agenda for action in support of an ambitious and successf...

In this episode, we are joined by Philippa Nuttall for a conversation on the impacts of war and conflict on nature, and about what can and is being done in the realm of international environmental law to counter-act these issues. She tells us about the weaponization of the environment in Ukraine, which has been ongoing already since 2014, discusses the concept of eco wars, and shares her thoughts...

Beyond its reactive role as a humanitarian agency, the World Food Programme (WFP) looks increasingly to preventative and anticipatory measures to hinder and reduce the impacts of climate-related disaster. Gernot Laganda, Chief of Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction at the WFP, brings some lessons from the field, suggest strategies to increase the resilience of food systems, and lets funding partne...

It seems counter-intuitive to talk about environmental issues in Syria, in the face of overwhelming human suffering. Yet, human life requires functioning ecosystems, and over 10 years of war has left Syria's water and land in shambles. This episode's guest, Loujein Haj Youssef, Editor-in-Chief at the independent Syrian news platform Rozana Radio, conducted an investigation into the specific enviro...

In this episode, we discuss feminist foreign policy, intersectional environmentalism, climate justice and how they are all interrelated. We offer a deep-dive into feminist foreign policy and feminist climate policy and explore why they´re important in light of climate security and climate justice. Finally, we speak about activism and why it´s worth fighting for Utopia. Interviewee: Sheena Anderson...

In this episode, we discover what happens when the UN includes climate and environmental risks into a country mandate. Somalia is one of the first political missions to have climate and environmental language included in its mandate – and language has power.  As a result, Somalia is the ground for several climate initiatives, ranging from risk assessment to capacity-building. One of the most pione...

In this episode, we speak with Ayan Mahamoud, Senior Coordinator of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional economic community with eight member states in the Horn of Africa. She walks us through some the region’s key climate-related risks to peace and security, and how IGAD is working to address these risks within the regional security cooperation framework. Ayan highlig...

In this episode, recorded just after the startling assassination attempt of the Libyan prime minister, we discuss climate security risks in Libya and how they are shaped by the country’s complicated political history. We hear how a weak social contract and large administration leave little space for development spending and the private sector, hindering the country’s energy transition. Furthermore...

This podcast episode looks back at progress, achievements and developments regarding climate diplomacy and security throughout the year 2021. It celebrates successes and discusses challenges, focusing on the most relevant and important events such as COP26, the journey of a topical UN Security Council resolution, the EU climate law, BCSC 2021 and many more. Interviewees: Hannah Elisabeth Kurnoth,...

This special podcast episode, recorded live at the 2021 Berlin Climate Security Conference, explores how to integrate climate security into mediation and peacebuilding. Our expert panellists highlight a range of issues, including how climate risks can provide an entry point for mediation, how communities must be empowered with knowledge on climate security, and that more integration is needed betw...

In this special episode, recorded live at the Berlin Climate and Security Conference 2021, we explore climate-related security risks and entry-points in three key regions: Southern Africa, the Arctic, and the Horn of Africa. We hear from the regional experts Ottilia Anna Maunganidze (Institute for Security Studies), Marisol Maddox (Wilson Center), and Sagal Abshir (The Clean Fight). They highlight...

The European Parliament issued a resolution on climate diplomacy in 2018. Since then, the policy landscape has evolved rapidly with the development of the European Green Deal, as well as the pandemic and ongoing efforts for a green post-Covid recovery. In this episode, Dennis Tänzler and Daria Ivleva highlight findings of their recent report on EU climate diplomacy, identifying progress made and t...

The Arctic is experiencing anthropogenic climate change at three times the global rate of change. Its sea ice minimum reached its second lowest level on record in 2020. Marisol Maddox, author of the CSEN risk brief on the Arctic, walks us through the critical climate-related breaking points the region is experiencing and why it matters for the whole world. She further elaborates on the geopolitica...

Climate-induced mobility is more than sudden displacement. It is also a consequence of slow-onset changes, structural shortcomings and governance failures. Luckily, the opportunities for addressing it and adapting to its impacts are just as diverse. Beatrice Mosello and Gareth Price, authors of the report “Rethinking mobility in the face of global changes”, give insights into climate-related mobil...

South Asia is one of the most climate-vulnerable regions in the world. Parts of the region are characterised by a high level of political instability and socio-economic backwardness. This convergence implies that climate change not only undermines human security, but could also heighten conflict risks. On the one hand, the region lacks the resources and capacities to cope with worsening first and...

This episode digs into the food insecurity-climate change nexus. It looks at how vulnerable agriculture is to a rapidly and erratically changing climate, but at the same time, how much it contributes to it. We discuss some of the narratives around food security and the environmental systems needed for food production. This episode is a special edition ahead of the UN Food Systems Summit 2021. The...

In this episode we speak about climate fragility risks in Mali together with Chitra Nagarajan, author of the climate fragility risk brief on Mali. During the interview, we hear her insights on how climate change is projected to affect Mali and learn more about the five pathways through which climate change impacts fragility in Mali. She also offers recommendations on how to address them. Moreover,...

For over 42 years, Afghanistan has endured nearly constant armed conflict, whether in the form of revolution, occupation, extremism or insurgency. This has taken a tremendous toll in human terms, but it has also exerted a powerful brake on the country’s development. Many Afghans are highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change as a result of their exposure to droughts, floods and other natur...