OSCE promotes regional co-operation and integrated solutions at Berlin Climate and Security Conference 2025

To help advance international efforts on climate change and security, the OSCE participated in the 7th Berlin Climate and Security Conference on 23 October, hosted by the German Federal Foreign Office and adelphi, a think tank for climate, environment and development.

High-level political actors, climate security experts, international organizations and practitioners attended the conference to promote, co-ordinate and advance concrete climate security approaches globally.“Our participating States face very different climate risks – from melting permafrost to desertification and wildfires – yet this diversity enables us to connect experiences, build shared understanding and turn climate challenges into opportunities for co-operation. When countries analyse risks together and act together, climate action becomes a catalyst for dialogue and trust,” said Bakyt Dzhusupov, Co-ordinator of the OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities.

One of the sessions examined how environmental stressors and climate change shape mobility patterns across borders and their implications for conflict dynamics using case studies from the OSCE area. The OSCE’s Senior Climate Change and Security Advisor Thomas Ritzer shared insights of the recent OSCE study on the linkages between climate change, security and human mobility in South-Eastern Europe.

Ahead of the conference, the OSCE co-hosted a side event at the Embassy of Ireland, which explored how the connections between the Rio Conventions on land, biodiversity and climate change can serve to advance dialogue, co-operation, and peace building. 

“Peace cannot be sustained without climate resilience and sustainable land management. Co-operation on shared natural resources and climate adaptation can build trust and serve as a bridge for peace,” added Co-ordinator Dzhusupov.

Insights shared during the conference will inform ongoing and future OSCE initiatives in this area, which will complement and reinforce global efforts in close co-operation with local, national and international partners.

Conference participation was part of the OSCE’s extrabudgetary project “Strengthening responses to security risks from climate change in South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia”, implemented by OCEEA in partnership with adelphi and in close collaboration with the OSCE field operations. The project is funded by Andorra, Austria, Czechia, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the United States.