UN Climate and Security Practitioners Dialogue set to launch in November 

The United Nations System Staff College (UNSSC) and the Climate Security Mechanism (CSM) announced today the launch of the UN Climate and Security Practitioners Dialogue (UN CASP Dialogue). Scheduled for 21-22 November 2022 at the UNSSC campus in Turin, Italy, the event will bring together practitioners from across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus for in-depth discussions on the integration of climate change considerations into political analysis, conflict prevention, and risk management strategies and programming. Participants will exchange experiences, lessons learned, and good practices from this fast-growing area of work with a focus on maximizing the potential for synergies at the intersection of climate action and peacebuilding. 

Given the accelerating effects of climate change, the need for integrated, gender-sensitive approaches to understanding and addressing their impacts on conflict prevention and peacebuilding is more urgent and evident than ever. To this end, the UN CASP Dialogue provides a platform to expand the collective knowledge base in this area, promote inter-agency dialogue, and foster solutions-based thinking. “We are looking forward to exchanging new perspectives and ideas with experts working on climate-informed conflict prevention and peacebuilding. The climate emergency is arguably the greatest threat to peace and security today, and it is critical that we bundle our efforts and learn from one another to effectively prevent conflict and sustain peace in the face of this challenge,” said Ginevra Cucinotta, Learning Portfolio Manager at the UNSSC Peace and Security Hub.  

The first edition of the UN CASP Dialogue will welcome a group of 30 experts from UN entities, regional and civil society organizations for a robust two-day discussion on risk analysis, lessons learned from the integration of climate risks into peacebuilding and development programming, and the use of data for evidence-based decision-making.   

”The demand for technical support and guidance from United Nations entities and other partners in countries and regions most affected by climate-related security risks is growing rapidly. We hope the UN CASP Dialogue will become a regular forum for practitioners to exchange knowledge and help close the policy-practice loop”, said Japhet William Graham Eichel, Associate Expert in the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), which jointly with the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UN Department of Peace Operations (DPO) makes up the CSM.  

UNSSC’s extensive work on the design and delivery of learning offerings focused on climate, peace and security risk, as well as the CSM’s global efforts to strengthen UN capacity to systematically address climate-related security risks provide a strong foundation for the UN CASP Dialogue. The launch of this initiative highlights a joint commitment to finding effective, locally-owned solutions to climate-related security risks as a means of advancing the UN’s broader objectives of prevention and sustaining peace. 

 For more insights and updates on the UN CASP Dialogue follow the #UNCASP2022 on social media.