Here in Germany, we, too, have recently felt the dramatic impact of climate change, with lives claimed by extreme temperatures and low river levels disrupting supply chains. In other countries, extreme weather events such as heat, drought, storms or floods lead to crop failures, hunger and migration pressures, and thus also to conflicts over ever scarcer resources. In fragile states in particular, climate change intensifies hardship and hunger, and can therefore also become a breeding ground for extremism and terrorism or lead to waves of migration.

The current Super El Niño threatens to destroy the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of people – and this at a time when grain prices are rising all over the world because Russia is attacking ships carrying grain in the Black Sea, thus cutting people worldwide who are particularly dependent on imports off from supplies.

Done well, climate change mitigation helps to foster overall security, in part because it makes states more resilient. If Russia once again targets Ukraine’s energy infrastructure this winter, decentralised renewable energy sources could become vital to survival because they are more difficult to destroy and do not depend on imports of fossil fuels.

Investments in climate change mitigation are also investments in our security. That is precisely the important topic at this year’s Berlin Climate and Security Conference.