The novel corona virus has had the world in its grip for months. Most countries’ immediate response was to focus on internal issues: they resorted to nationalistic approaches, closing borders and even competing for equipment, even though a multilateral approach was necessary. In the longer term, will this crisis strengthen the ties between nations? Or exacerbate the flaws of today’s multilateralism?

Climate diplomacy has been picking up momentum in 2018. To celebrate Climate Diplomacy Week 2018, we collected our 10 best climate diplomacy stories of the year. Travel with us from Brussels to The Hague, Rio de Janeiro, New Delhi, Beijing and San Francisco.

El Salvador is one of the countries forming the Central American Dry Corridor. The Central American Dry Corridor faces poor distribution of irregular rain, drought, environmental degradation and low crop yields, which creates vulnerability. El Salvador is caught in a vicious circle of poverty, migration and violence, and this convergence implies that the country is fragile to climate change impacts undermining human security.

A twin human rights and environmental crisis in Colombia has intensified since the government and rebel army FARC signed a peace treaty in 2016. This study is the first of its kind to analyse these links between conflict dynamics, environmental degradation and climate change in the Colombian Amazon and how they have changed since the signing of the peace agreement.

This manual is a compilation of introductory texts and the most relevant reports in the field of climate change and security. It covers the issue of how climate change converges with other global pressures, such as population growth, uncontrolled urbanisation, increased demand for resources and environmental degradation, to exacerbate global security challenges and intensify instability in fragile societies.

Natural resources play an important role for growth and development in Latin America and the Caribbean. The region is home to extensive reserves of metals and minerals, including those that will be critical in the transition to greener and more sustainable energy sources. Oil and gas reserves are also significant. Moreover, production is likely to increase with several large mining projects being developed in some countries, and unconventional hydrocarbon resource discoveries and production techniques, such as deepwater drilling and shale, are also expected to further increase the oil and gas potential. This report provides a comprehensive analysis of responsible business conduct (RBC) issues, initiatives and policies in the extractive sector in the region and encourages countries and actors in the region to use RBC as a tool for inclusive and sustainable development.

At the end of March, the German Federal Foreign Office and adelphi picked up on the new momentum in transatlantic climate policy: 90 representatives from business, research and civil society discussed perspectives on the Transatlantic Climate Bridge established in 2008.

The first part of the 2020 Berlin Climate and Security Conference took place online on June 23 and 24, 2020, bringing together leading figures from governments, international organisations and the scientific community through two sessions on the state of the art of climate and security and a high-level political segment. This summary outlines the highlights of the conference.