Panel Discussions - Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Denmark, IPI Co-host Meeting on Climate Change as Security Threat
On September 22nd, IPI and the Danish government co-hosted a high-level dialogue on the nexus of climate change and international security.
Moderated by Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Møller, whose opening remarks are available for download, the event heard presentations by climate change experts before the floor was opened to environment and foreign ministers from states around the world.
Terje Rød-Larsen, IPI president, echoed sentiments expressed by many participants in saying that the event ought to complement the parallel efforts at the UN on the issue. Indeed, the timing of the dialogue held at IPI’s Trygve Lie Center allowed member states to begin to build consensus on climate change ahead of December 2009’s Copenhagen conference on the subject.
Following presentations by Oli Brown of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, and David O’Connor of the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs, those present discussed the various facets of climate change as a challenge to security, putting forward ideas on how to tackle it both nationally and multilaterally.
The following areas of agreement emerged:
• Climate change is one of the most pressing issues facing the world today; anticipation and the development of early-warning mechanisms will be very important;
• While not a traditional “military” security challenge, climate change represents a threat multiplier, which has the potential to exacerbate existing security problems;
• Existing institutions must be upgraded to cope with climate change, or else new ones need be created;
• Migration as a result of extreme weather events caused by climate change will increasingly represent a threat to security; and
• Migration will likely be the issue to force countries to act sooner rather than later.
The meeting was held under the Chatham House Rule.
The Global Observatory
Interview with John Prendergast, Co-Founder, Enough Project
Mr. Prendergast discusses the international justice system and the new ground forged by Invisible Children's Kony2012 campaign.
Key Global Events to Watch in May
A list of key upcoming meetings and events with implications for global affairs.
The Global Observatory is a new website by IPI, providing timely analysis on peace and security issues, interviews with leading policymakers, interactive maps, and more.
Recent Events
May 10, 2012
Arbour: What the Rule of Law Means
“In my understanding of the rule of law, fundamentally, what the rule of law means is that it embraces the principle of equality before the law,” Louise Arbour, president of the International Crisis Group (ICG), told an IPI audience on May 10, 2012. Ms. Arbour outlined that this means that no one is above the law and everyone has both equal protection and equal benefit of the law. 
May 03, 2012
Shachtman: Cyber Threats Akin to South Bronx, Not Pearl Harbor
“There’s not a danger of a cyber Pearl Harbor… it’s more like the South Bronx circa 1999, where there’s a danger that it becomes such a tough neighborhood that no one wants to set up shop there and people move out,” Noah Shachtman, editor of the Danger Room blog at Wired magazine and non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, told an IPI audience at a panel on cyber security on May 3, 2011.
April 27, 2012
Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems
An April 27th roundtable discussion at IPI titled “Preventing Conflicts in Africa: The Role of Early Warning and Response Systems” examined the progress, prospects and challenges of regional and international early warning and response mechanisms to monitor, anticipate, and mitigate potential conflict situations in Africa.