The Climate, Migration and Security Nexus in the Mediterranean Region

Supporting local communities for improved climate resilience, peace and stability

The Mediterranean is increasingly becoming a hot hotspot for climate change. In the region, climate change is progressing at a rate above the global average, and its impacts pose direct and indirect risks to the livelihoods of millions of people, particularly impacting farmers. Adding to an ever-growing population, pollution, changes in land use, recurrent droughts, extreme heat, wildfires, and storms result in compound and cascading consequences for communities’ livelihoods systems and food security. Consequently, maintaining living standards and pursuing development opportunities in the region is becoming difficult.

Climate change increases countries’ fragility and amplifies tensions and conflicts by decreasing land, energy, and water resources availability, and this is particularly true in the Mediterranean. The region has over the years witnessed an increase of natural-related events – in 2023, devastating natural disasters happened in Morocco, Libya, Syria, and Turkey. The Mediterranean is marked by high levels of socio-economic insecurity, political and environmental stability, and the increased nature and frequency of these natural events, in addition to poverty, food insecurity and lack of opportunities, often forces people to migrate both within the region, or across the Mediterranean Sea through unsafe channels, potentially affecting the security of displaced and host communities.

The climate crisis has become central to the G7 agenda, as world leaders have emphasized the need to mobilize resources for adaptation, mitigation, and green transitions to foster development and stability. Additionally, calls to reform the global financial architecture, by strengthening links between development finance and climate finance, have grown during the past year. In the upcoming G7 summit, climate change, sustainable finance, food and human security, and EU migration policies will take center stage. The Italian Presidency is actively driving efforts to formulate tangible action plans, fostering dialogue and cooperation, especially with the involvement of Mediterranean, African, and Gulf countries.

How can we build an integrated approach with coordinated and complementary actions across climate, migration, security, and food systems? What are the most needed climate adaptation and mitigation strategies in the Mediterranean region to ensure stability? How can we contribute to redirecting climate investments toward the most fragile and conflict-affected areas and the most vulnerable populations?

Objective

This event serves as a continuation of the previous session held in Rome in June 2023, which brought together scientists, politicians, representatives of relevant International Organizations, and experts on the climate-security interplay in the region. The follow-up event aims to build upon the discussions and outcomes of the previous gathering and delve deeper into specific themes identified during that session. More specifically, the event will:

• Present a white paper, with key policy recommendations on climate-security issues in the Mediterranean, which will be offered to the G7 Italian Presidency.
• Delve deeper into the main pathways and underlying mechanisms through which climate change affects mobility and security in the region.
• Discuss potential solutions to address the root causes of climate insecurity and increase climate adaptation capacities, resilience, peace, and food security.
• Identify areas for collaboration and discuss strategies to operationalize joint efforts aimed at bolstering climate-resilience and promoting peace in the region.