An island nation on the forefront of the climate crisis calls for multidisciplinarity and cooperation.
Malta is no newcomer to multilateral conversations about climate change. This Mediterranean archipelago is among those most exposed to the impacts of climate change, including rising sea levels, desertification, and soaring temperatures. A high level of exposure, coupled with its multilateralist vision of foreign policy, has shaped its commitment to climate diplomacy for many decades.
As early as 1988, Malta tabled the subject of climate change at the United Nations General Assembly as a 'common concern for mankind'. Acknowledging the critical challenge facing humanity in the years to come, as well as the strong collaborative global efforts required to overcome it, Malta has since maintained this momentum.
This year, both as an elected member of the United Nations Security Council Opinion An island nation on the forefront of the climate crisis calls for multidisciplinarity and cooperation. By Ian Borg, Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and Trade of Malta, and Chair-in-Office of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Malta's investment in climate diplomacy and as the Chair of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), it has remained committed to highlighting the linkages between climate and security.
Leveraging its unique perspective and role in the multilateral scene, Malta has notably chosen to make climate change a foremost priority of its 2024 OSCE Chairpersonship. In this spirit, on 21st June, Malta launched its new climate initiative: 'Climate Diplomacy: Empowerment for a Resilient Future'. The launch took place at the High-Level Conference on Climate Change hosted by Malta as OSCE Chair, where OSCE leaders convened to assess the security implications of the climate crisis for the OSCE area, which covers North America, Europe, and Central Asia.
This Malta-led initiative will consist of an annual 3-Day Technical Workshop for one or two participants per OSCE participating State or partner state, with the possibility of regionally focused sessions in other OSCE participating States. The initiative envisages broad geographic representation, with participants from the 57 OSCE participating States and 11 Partners for Co-operation, ensuring wide geographic representation from across the OSCE region, particularly South East Europe, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean.
Multidisciplinarity
The need for multidisciplinarity is among the main drivers of this initiative. The extent and variety of climate change impacts are as vast as the range of actions and policy work strands required to face them. Effective solutions require technical expertise in a variety of fields, including scientific research, technological innovation, economic analysis, as well as policy and public sector expertise.
The broad spectrum of knowledge and abilities required to identify solution-oriented actions and secure their implementation stands in contrast to the strong tendency towards the formation of silos between disciplines and the separation between groups of professionals. Such tendencies undermine coherence and effectiveness across different channels of action and erode nexuses across related fields, as evidenced by difficulties encountered in addressing the ocean-climatebiodiversity nexus.
Malta's initiative, therefore, aims to address the communication, knowledge, and skills gaps associated with climate change. It does so by bringing together young professionals working within the public sector and officials from international organizations whose jobs may be directly or indirectly linked with climate change. The diversity of professional backgrounds extends to diplomatic and technical personnel, intentionally reflecting the project's multidisciplinary approach and providing a conduit for a tangible contribution to climate action.
Dialogue and cooperation
Malta's awareness of the scale of dialogue and cooperation required among states with different perspectives and capacities points to further gaps and needs that the initiative seeks to address. This is especially evident in its particular focus on developing countries and on support for the transfer of knowledge not merely across disciplines but also across states. In this regard, the initiative dovetails with Malta's broader commitment to multilateralism and dialogue. These values emerged as the main pillars of climate negotiations and implementation at the OSCE High- Level Climate Conference hosted by the Maltese Chairpersonship in June.
A multistakeholder approach
Malta's engagement with the topic of climate change in its role as OSCE Chair has also drawn attention to the need for a multistakeholder approach. The manifold implications of climate change for diverse facets of human society make the involvement of various stakeholders in the policymaking process a strategic imperative. The inclusion and integration of wide and diverse societal considerations can take place at different stages of this process, including through awareness-raising campaigns, the development of technological solutions, the execution of scientific research, and economic analysis and policy design itself.
This climate diplomacy initiative was therefore developed with the awareness that public policy requires the involvement of non-State actors, including those from the private sector, academia, and civil society, in order to be adequate and effective. Building upon applicable multilateral agreements in force and ongoing developments at the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations, the training course will equip participants from public administrations and international organizations with the skills and contacts needed to tackle climate change using a multistakeholder approach. It will aim to develop and transfer specific tools and skills that empower participants to facilitate communication and coordination with the private sector, academia, and civil society through all avenues of climate action.
Workshops will aim to facilitate the adoption of a cross-sectoral approach by participants in their everyday work by building networks and ensuring inclusivity. They will provide participants with the broader context and a clearer picture of multistakeholder interactions in the context of climate action and multilateralism, along with different thematic links.
Mainstreaming and empowerment
Malta's efforts at the helm of the OSCE have also been characterised by a commitment to mainstreaming gender and youth across work strands and different dimensions of security. Mainstreaming has repeatedly been underscored by participating States as a source of inclusion, innovation, responsiveness, and durability. The integration and consistent implementation of gender and youth perspectives has been recognised as key to future engagement and as a contributing factor to enhanced security and resilience.
The far-reaching vision and capacity-building potential of this climate diplomacy initiative lie in its empowerment of diverse young professionals from across the OSCE. Capacity-building workshops for these young professionals will be an investment in the ability of the future workforce of beneficiary countries to address future needs. Workshops will address skills gaps among participants while also building contacts that will serve them well throughout their careers. Empowerment is key to building a resilient future as we strive to equip young professionals with the tools they will need to take action for years to come.
Looking forward
Malta holds the Chairpersonship of the OSCE at a time of violence and upheaval. While conflict increasingly tops the international agenda and takes precedence in multilateral discussions, the threat posed by climate change persists regardless of the exigencies of power politics.
Climate change is now not merely a backdrop for conflict – it increasingly contributes to it by exacerbating existing tensions and creating new vulnerabilities.
Allowing discord and self-interest to set the tone of our foreign policy – and by extension of our endeavours for a just transition and for increased climate resilience – will only serve to set us back on the journey toward safe and just societies. Progress in this field hinges on our ability to embrace collaborative multilateralism as a cornerstone of the capacity-building efforts that are needed to address needs and threats that become more acute as time goes by.
True to Malta's multilateralist ethos, this Climate Diplomacy initiative will foster knowledge, cooperation, and dialogue. In doing so, it will generate 'Empowerment for a Resilient Future'.
