Reducing impacts emanating from environmental stresses
The Planetary Security Initiative
Interview with Louise van Schaik, Head of the Clingendael International Sustainability Centre and Project Lead of the Planetary Security Initiative, The Hague
The European: Ms van Schaik, you are the project lead of the Planetary Security Initiative (PSI) which was initiated by the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2015. What was the motivation to unite five expert institutes from The Hague, Stockholm, Washington D.C. and Berlin in a consortium on this issue? Louise van Schaik: When we started our initiative in 2015, the aspect of climate change involving security was already subject to debate in the US, but in Europe there was less awareness about its ongoing impacts, and the issue was more considered as a future risk. At that time, the Netherlands was campaigning for a seat on the UN Security Council knowing that climate change was a topic close to the heart of a lot of its members, as well as those of the UN General Assembly. It gave the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which also includes climate vulnerable islands in the Caribbean, and is below sea level for about a third of the country, opportunity to share its knowledge on climate adaptation policies, for instance climate smart agriculture, integrated water management, flood protection, etc. The European: I understand that the Planetary Security Initiative fit in very well with ongoing policy priorities. How did the Clingendael Institute, for which you work, initiate the PSI?
Photo: © Planetary Security Initiative
Climate Change
Louise v. Schaik: The Dutch Foreign Affairs Ministry first organised a conference, but then they thought it would be a good idea to have additional activities – smaller events, a website, etc. – throughout the year in order to raise visibility. The Ministry identified potential organisations to implement this initiative and sent out a tender asking organisations to make proposals, underlining that they would like also to involve international partners. The European: …to really make it a planetary initiative. The PSI puts forth the concept of “planetary security”: is this different to what is called for example climate-related security? And what does planetary security include? Louise v. Schaik: The concept was invented by the Ministry. The idea behind it is that several environmental pressures in the world could constitute possible security risks. PSI is not about climate change alone, but also about other environmental pressures. Let’s say the planetary boundaries idea allows a broader approach, because sometimes problems are not only related to climate change but also to other factors. Take the example of water scarcity. People sometimes debate whether it is related to climate change or not. You may see that the cause of water scarcity is not only climate change but that the impacts are similar. Very often, these issues are interrelated. For this reason, the concept of PSI is well selected. The European: That’s convincing. PSI follows a multilateral, multi-sector and multi-disciplinary approach. How is this approach achieved?
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