SIPRI, in collaboration with the governments of Germany and Sweden and the German Council on Foreign Relations, hosted a side event at COP27’s preparatory meeting (PRECOP27) in Kinshasa on 5 October. The event addressed the conflict situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) and its links to climate security.
The DRC is a country with the potential to play a pivotal role in international climate and environmental protection and with experience of ongoing conflict dynamics and climate change. This made PRECOP27 Kinshasa an important opportunity to discuss the nexus between security and climate change.
The event aimed to foster dialogue by bringing national, regional and international experts together to discuss the challenges of the global climate transition and the risks and opportunities of this transition for countries like the DRC. The event sought to identify recommendations for climate-sensitive actions that have the potential to transform conflict.
The side event opened with a keynote address by Jennifer Lee Morgan, German State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action, followed by a high-level panel discussion on the interconnection between climate security and the conflict situation in the DRC. The thematic workshops discussed specific aspects of climate and security in the context of the DRC: minerals and exploitation, protection of the rainforest, and national parks.
More information about the side event is available here.