Center For Climate and Foreign Policy

Droughts, storms, floods – climate is impacting the world and posing major challenges to civil society, politics, and the economy. At DGAP’s Center for Climate and Foreign Policy, researchers address the dimensions of climate change related to security, geo-economics, and society and examine where they intersect with German foreign policy. On the basis of this work, the center aims to develop political recommendations for action.

Its research on security focuses on the link between climate change and various risks to human security, such as the destruction of natural livelihoods and traditional identities. Many developing countries are particularly affected – although they have contributed least to the causes of climate change, foremost global greenhouse gas emissions.

Climate change puts the livelihoods of farmers, fishers, and others whose source of income is directly linked to healthy ecosystems at risk. One consequence of this development is climate migration. Research into the links between extreme climatic events and migration, as well as potential humanitarian emergencies, is another of cross-cutting themes on which the center will focus.

The research team also addresses the geo-economic dimensions of climate change. As one of the largest economies in the world and the largest CO2 emitter in Europe, Germany has a special responsibility for international climate policy – and a significant scope for action. Against this background, DGAP’s Center for Climate and Foreign Policy works on complex foreign policy challenges, for example in the fields of climate and energy policy as well as international climate diplomacy.

The multi-layered issues that continue to be debated at the domestic and international level make it clear that climate policy decisions affect a multitude of policy areas. Therefore, the center’s synergies with other program areas are used to strengthen DGAP’s collaborative work on climate policy issues.

As a result, the center formulates options for action that are built on scientific findings and contribute to a coherent German and European strategy at the interface of climate and security policy.

The central questions guiding its work include:

• Where does climate change become relevant for Germany in terms of security policy?
• What are the consequences of climate migration and displacement?
• Where do the domestic and foreign policy dimensions of climate policy intersect and how does Germany develop a coherent response to the climate crisis?
• How can the burden of the costs of adaptation to climate change be shared equitably at the international level?
• What contribution can civil crisis prevention make to preventing the escalation of resource conflicts?