Climate Change and EU Security Policy

an Unmet Challenge

Resumo

The EU defense summit, in December 2013, gave the Union a mandate to draw up a new security strategy. Climate change plays an increasingly prominent part on debates on the European security. The EU was one of the first organizations to identify climate change as a “threat multiplier” and to gather a considerable collection of policy initiatives, designed to mainstream climate related factors within its foreign and security policies. The EU is also pushing for an ambitious post-2015 international climate accord. Against this background, it is an important moment to consider the link between two policy tracks – the security and climate change agendas. The author examines problems that result from fragmented responsibilities, among different European institutional players, which lack a specific focus on climate change. Further, the article explores the link between climate change and EU migration policies, the connection between the impact of climate change, energy security and defence policy, and the geo-economic dimension of EU policy responses. It concludes with a reflection on whether climate change will impact positively on European cooperation, in particular in the framework of climate crisis, or conversely will prone states to self-reliance.