Strengthening responses to security risks from climate change in South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia

Since 2007, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) has been focusing on the security implications of climate change, working with partners to conduct research and implement activities on the ground to address the potential security risks stemming from climate change, as well as providing a platform for political dialogue on climate-related security risks. These activities have ranged from participatory assessments to the development and implementation of transboundary adaptation strategies in the OSCE region.

Building on this work, in 2020, the OSCE, in collaboration with adelphi research, started the project “Strengthening responses to security risks from climate change in South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia”. The project aims to reduce climate change-related security risks in the four project regions by raising awareness, developing capacities, and sharing knowledge within and among the project regions. By so doing, it contributes to the implementation of the various provisions of the OSCE Ministerial Council Decision No.3/21 on “Strengthening co-operation to address the challenges caused by climate change” that was adopted on 3 December 2021 in Stockholm.

adelphi research has been a key partner of the OSCE for the implementation of the project since the beginning. In the first phase of work, from 2020 to 2024, adelphi research has supported the implementation of participatory formats to assess climate and security risks in the project’s regions, mapping climate-security hotspots, and supporting the organisation and implementation of dialogue events aimed at bringing together stakeholders within and across the regions to discuss strategies to jointly address climate-related security risks.

In the second phase of the project, starting in November 2024, the OSCE and adelphi research will continue working together with regional, national and local level stakeholders towards assessing the current context of shared climate-related security challenges in selected hotspots through participatory research, and to develop ideas for co-operation activities. More specifically, activities under this phase will include:

• An assessment of the climate-related security challenges linked to illegal logging in the Shar/Šara Mountains and Korab Massif Area
• A research report on the interlinkages between climate change, human mobility and security in South-Eastern Europe
• A strategy and implementation plan to address climate-related security risks for North-West Azerbaijan and Eastern Georgia
• An analysis of gender and climate security in the OSCE region, including the development of practical recommendations for stakeholders towards mainstreaming gender into climate policies and programmes
• A best practice guide illustrating lessons learned and case studies related to developing and implementing shared initiatives and programmes to address climate-related security risks that emerged from the project