ZIF at Berlin Climate and Security Conference 2025

Thinking about climate change, peace, and security together: ZIF at the Berlin Climate and Security Conference 2025
 

The Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF) was represented in several key formats at this year's Berlin Climate and Security Conference (BCSC) at the Federal Foreign Office in Berlin. The conference was held under the motto “Climate, Conflict, and Cooperation in a Turbulent Era” and brought together high-ranking representatives from governments, international organizations, academia, and civil society. The focus was on the security implications of climate change and the question of how international cooperation can be further strengthened in the face of global crises and geopolitical upheavals.

ZIF side events on linking research, policy, and practice

In the run-up to the main conference, ZIF and XCEPT Research organized their own side event: “Bridging the Climate, Peace, and Security Science–Policy Divide.” Experts from academia, diplomacy, and peace work discussed how current research findings on climate security can be better translated into political decision-making processes and which formats of exchange are particularly suitable for this purpose. The aim was to promote mutual understanding between research and policy and to further develop approaches for practical, resilient climate policy in fragile contexts.

In addition, ZIF co-organized the workshop “The implications of climate change and environmental degradation for dialogue and mediation processes in peace operations and crisis management” together with CMC Finland, the European Centre of Excellence for Civilian Crisis Management (CoE), the Folke Bernadotte Academy (FBA), and SIPRI. The focus was on how peace operations can better integrate climate and environmental aspects into dialogue, mediation, and political processes. ZIF published a briefing on this topic last year.

ZIF at the main conference

The following day, Tobias Pietz, ZIF expert on climate security and the EU, took part in the main conference. Together with four other climate security experts seconded by ZIF, he contributed perspectives from research, policy advice, and multilateral practice.

The central topics of BCSC 2025 included:

• the impact of climate-related risks on security and development,
• innovative financing approaches to support fragile states,
• and new avenues for international cooperation in the field of climate security.
   

Cooperation and exchange as the key

The conference made it clear that climate change, resource conflicts, and security issues are now more closely intertwined than ever before. Meeting these challenges requires close exchange between research, politics, and practice, as well as new forms of multilateral cooperation, such as those promoted by ZIF together with its partners.

Further information on the conference and side events:  
www.berlin-climate-security-conference.de

ZIF has been involved in the field of climate, peace, and security since 2019, advising EU and UN processes and supporting international peace work through research, policy dialogues, and the deployment of experts in multilateral organizations.