Climate change is ‘biggest’ security challenge: Germany’s foreign minister

By Anadolu staff

BERLIN (AA) - German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Tuesday called for stronger international efforts to meet climate protection goals, warning that insufficient progress could lead to new conflicts, and exacerbate existing conflicts.

“The climate crisis is the biggest security challenge of our time. The climate crisis could escalate existing conflicts massively, leading to massive displacement and forced migration, and thereby exacerbating global instability,” Baerbock said.

Delivering a speech at the Berlin Climate and Security Conference, she said the German government’s climate policy is not only for environmental protection but also an integral part of the country’s foreign and security policy.

The Green politician underlined that climate change poses a threat not only to the countries in fragile and conflict-affected regions but also to countries known as stable democracies.

“If the global warming reaches 2 degrees Celsius, at least 189 million people will face food insecurity,” Baerbock warned, referring to the latest estimates by climate experts.

“And if global warming reaches 4 degrees Celsius, 1.8 billion people, 20% of the world's population, would need food assistance,” she said and renewed her call on all countries to take action to accelerate the transition away from oil, gas, and coal.

“We should be aware of this in every political decision we take. We should be aware of what it means for the next 20 to 30 years for our own security. I think it is worth every effort,” Baerbock said.

She underlined that next month’s UN Climate Change Conference (COP 29) in Baku will be very important to advance international efforts for climate protection.