This week saw the launch of the Nordic-Baltic Network on Climate, Peace and Security, an initiative anchored in the Climate-related Peace and Security Risks project co-led by SIPRI and the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs (NUPI). The launch took place virtually on 9 June.
The aim of the network is to create a space for research cooperation and knowledge sharing and to support member states from the region who serve on the United Nations Security Council and other multilateral and regional bodies.
Dan Smith, SIPRI Director, and Ulf Sverdrup, Director of NUPI, provided introductory remarks. Audun Halvorsen, Norwegian State Secretary of Foreign Affairs, addressed the network, highlighting climate change as a priority during Norway's seat on the UN Security Council (2021–22). Halvard Buhaug from the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO) followed with a presentation on the security implications of climate change, outlining research and reviews on climate and security.
The network consists of the following 12 institutions: Danish Institute of International Affairs (DIIS); Estonian Foreign Policy Institute (EFPI); Finnish Institute of International Affairs (FIIA); Crisis Management Institute (CMI); Institute of International Affairs (IIA), University of Iceland; Institute for Sustainability Studies, University of Iceland Latvia; Latvian Institute of International Affairs (LIIA); Institute of International Relations and Political Science of Vilnius University (TSPMI); PRIO; NUPI; Norwegian University of Life Sciences (MNBU); and SIPRI.
Read more about the launch here. Watch Norwegian State Secretary of Foreign Affairs Audun Halvorsen's keynote address here.