Integrating climate awareness into peacebuilding processes is not always easy. Read climate expert Thomas Ritzer’s guide to climate-sensitive mediation.
by Thomas Ritzer
The climate crisis and its impacts on peace and security pose a growing challenge for the field of mediation. As global average temperatures rise, mediators will increasingly be called upon to defuse tensions over both the impacts and drivers of climate change.
So far, the evidence base is thin. A recent study by Tim Epple of PeaceRep found that of the 1,659 international and national peace agreements signed since 1990, only six explicitly mention climate change. But there is a trend toward more climate change being featured in negotiations. From the Colombia Final Agreement in 2016 to the more recent Northern Ireland New Decade, New Approach Agreement (2020) and the Kyrgyzstan-Tajikistan Joint Statement (2021), mediators are increasingly addressing climate-related issues and their impact on conflict and peace.
Yet integrating climate-related issues into peace processes is a difficult task and does not necessarily guarantee a better outcome. Mediators need considerable skill and expertise to overcome a range of inherent risks, including concerns about depoliticizing mediation efforts and fears of overloading the negotiating agenda.
In recent years, practice notes from the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and papers from the European Peace Institute have provided valuable insights into the risks and opportunities that climate change poses for mediators. Building on these insights, the Berghof Foundation and Adelphi organized a workshop with policymakers, researchers and practitioners as part of Berlin Moot: Reinventing Peace to identify ways to advance climate-smart mediation. The discussion focused on formulating advice for mediators to address common challenges.
With this workshop as a guide, here are 8 common obstacles: Climate-Sensitive Mediation And how to overcome it:
- Mediation teams lack contextual knowledge of the climate-peace nexus.
- Address questions about climate impacts, vulnerability and coping capacity (e.g., How will livelihoods be affected by changes in the weather?) and ensure that conflict analysis is climate-informed. Update it regularly to reflect changes in the environment.
- Ensure that mediation teams have a minimum level of climate literacy so they can understand climate-related information and distinguish fact from fiction. Where necessary, leverage external expertise from researchers and academics.
- It combines participatory analytical methods with other scientific data to generate a comprehensive understanding of the climate-peace nexus.
- The impact of climate change on conflicts is difficult to prove, and mediation teams are unclear about how to position climate-related issues in the mediation process.
- We segment climate-related issues by region and build the discussion from the bottom up, listening to communities and how they feel about climate impacts.
- In line with existing environmental frameworks and regimes, we will consider positioning the environment as an independent actor with its own rights. Recognizing that the environment is not simply a backdrop for human activities, but a central element that both influences and is influenced by conflict dynamics, will help build a more holistic peace.
- Consider incorporating international agreements, norms and frameworks into your negotiations to provide appropriate guidance and inspiration.
- Facilitate scenario exercises that envision green and peaceful futures. While it may be difficult to define the relationship between climate and conflict, it is helpful to identify the role of a healthy environment in a prosperous future.
- One or more of the conflict parties lack awareness or knowledge of climate-related issues:
- Consider organizing awareness-raising activities through the media, public events, or other channels that reach a wide audience.
- Facilitate community testimony and expert opinion during reconciliation processes regarding current and future impacts of climate change at local, national and regional levels.
- Organize joint learning and capacity-building activities for conflict parties (or the wider community) to establish a common knowledge base.
- One or more of the conflict parties are unwilling to address climate-related issues.
- Promote a broad definition of security that includes human and environmental dimensions.
- Analyse the political economy of climate change to understand what actors stand to gain and lose in the short, medium and long term by addressing climate-related issues (including those related to the green transition).
- Don’t force issues onto the agenda. Avoid framing that may be perceived as overly prescriptive or Western-centric. Consider pragmatic approaches that address climate-related issues with different labels that fit the mediation context.
- Focus on common interests and build supportive stakeholder coalitions to drive action.
- Political pressures have led to a focus on short-term priorities, leaving little or no space for climate-related issues.
- Develop an evidence base and narrative that shows the impacts of climate change on immediate peace priorities, or consider sequencing your peacebuilding efforts into short-, medium- and long-term approaches to make room for a range of topics.
- Explore creative process design options, including climate-related working groups and sub-tracks, and consider how and when they can be connected to the main track.
- It considers the climate justice dimensions of the conflict and what shared responsibilities might emerge from such a framework, including actors beyond the immediate conflict context.
- At the very least, we need a climate resilience agreement to avoid environmental harm (such as deforestation activities) and raise awareness of future climate challenges.
- Climate-related issues are contentious and stakeholders are unable to reach agreement.
- Directly or indirectly involve private sector partners, environmental experts and livelihood experts in the process to provide new perspectives and develop innovative solutions that have the potential to “grow the pie”.
- Consider framing conflicts over natural resources as issues of “access” rather than “ownership.”
- The scale and scope of climate-related issues in the mediation process is unclear.
- Identify which climate-related issues can be addressed at which governance level (e.g. local flood management vs. national land use policy) and how this fits into current processes. Depending on needs and entry points, consider parallel discussions and collaboration across levels.
- Clarify the governance structure and the powers of the various parties to advance actions agreed as part of the mediation process.
- Align the objectives of your climate-related provisions (e.g. whether to address the drivers or mitigate the impacts of climate change) with the realities of your situation, including the timeline of actions discussed, the stakeholders involved, and the funding available.
- A lack of political will and resources has hindered the implementation and monitoring of the climate provisions in the agreement.
- Draft adaptive contracts with dynamic oversight and the flexibility to adjust provisions to changing circumstances.
- Work with climate stakeholders to consider ways to link the implementation of the Agreement’s relevant provisions to climate action plans and strategies.
- Explore the feasibility of accessing climate finance sources such as international funds and carbon offset schemes, keeping in mind the need for conflict sensitivity. Even if you face resistance, be prepared to make a compelling argument linking climate finance to peace goals.
- We will explore partnerships with countries and international organizations that support climate-sensitive peacebuilding and provide them with political and financial support.