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EU Closing Statement
- The European Union thanks the Chairpersonship of Malta for convening this timely and important high-level conference. We would also like to thank the speakers, moderators and panellists for sharing their insightful perspectives, which contributed to the discussions on how we can jointly address the global climate crisis, a pressing issue that poses significant threats to our common security. The impact of climate change continues to intensify globally, putting people’s lives and livelihoods at risk, while threatening critical infrastructure, food supply chains and other essential national security systems. As highlighted in the additional EEC meeting on 31 May 2024, the economic and environmental consequences of Russia’s ongoing war of aggression against Ukraine are being felt globally, impacting the OSCE region, far beyond Ukraine’s borders, including through increasing CO2 emissions, which puts strains on the global climate goals.
- The EU recognises the urgent need to maintain political momentum following the consensus at COP28 and enhance global efforts towards ambitious climate action and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.
- Climate change proves to be a risk multiplier and its impacts are multifaceted, affecting different regions in diverse ways. The OSCE provides a valuable platform for practice-oriented cooperation and political dialogue, bringing together different actors to enhance security and climate resilience.
- Last year’s successful OSCE High-Level Conference on Climate Change demonstrated the importance of such dialogue and cooperation, renewing the impetus among participating States to tackle this critical issue. In this context, we take positive note of the establishment of an OSCE Climate and Security Fund, which aims to reduce climate-related security risks in the OSCE area. The OSCE projects financed by this fund, “Strengthening Responses to Security Risks from Climate Change in South-Eastern Europe, Eastern Europe, the South Caucasus and Central Asia” and “Mitigating Climate Change Threats to Critical Energy Infrastructure”, can foster co-operation among the OSCE participating States to address climate-related security risks, and jointly develop and implement risk reduction measures.
- Adaptation is critical across all sectors and countries, playing a central role in averting, minimising, and addressing loss and damage. The EU is committed to enhancing adaptation actions, strengthening the resilience of vulnerable communities, and scaling up support related to loss and damage. We encourage Parties to take action at all levels of governance to achieve the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA), enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience, and reducing vulnerability to climate change.
- The EU recognises the importance of including a gender perspective in all our climate-related activities and particularly welcomes the OSCE project “Promoting women’s economic empowerment in the energy sector in Central Asia” and other similar OSCE projects which are key to strengthening women’s capacity to face the impacts of climate change.
- The EU Joint Communication – “A New Outlook on the Climate and Security Nexus" provides a comprehensive framework for addressing the growing impacts of the climate crisis on peace, security, and defence. This framework builds on previous initiatives and focuses on the key areas: Evidence-Based Analysis and Foresight, integrating the Climate-Security Nexus in EU External Actions, ensuring Sustainable and Climate-Resilient European Security and Defence, and International Cooperation.
- The EU supports Malta’s initiative on "Climate Diplomacy: Empowerment for a Resilient Future." This initiative aligns with our vision of the OSCE as a centre of dialogue and effective multilateralism, bringing together countries' unique contributions to strengthen regional resilience against climate impacts. It will equip participants with the necessary skills for informed engagement in international fora and building preparedness against climate impacts. In conclusion, we particularly commend this initiative's focus on youth empowerment and its aim to ensure that future generations are actively involved in addressing long-term climate challenges. We thank Malta for its leadership in fostering multilateralism for climate action.
