Ladies and gentlemen,
Colleagues,
Guests,

Will it be “Super”, or will it not?

This is how we could sum up the reporting of recent weeks and months on “Super El Niño”.

Do you know what I think?

To my mind, crises do not need a special name to give us cause for concern.

Because even without superlatives, we can already see how increasingly extreme weather conditions are affecting and deepening many crises and conflicts worldwide.

And we are seeing actors trying to turn this to their own advantage. In a perfidious manner, they are using the impacts of climate change as a weapon.

In April, we met here in Berlin for the third Sudan Conference.

Together with the international community and civil society actors, we sought political solutions for a future Sudan and gathered humanitarian support for the Sudanese people.

Today, we see that the lack of rainfall in Sudan is intensifying the drought in the fields.

The water levels along the Nile fell sharply this summer.

Many farmers do not know whether their seeds will grow, whether there will even be a harvest.

And all of this in a country where hunger and scarcity are deliberately being used by the parties to the conflict against the local population.

Roughly 12,000 kilometres from Sudan, lower levels of rainfall are leading to falling water levels in one of the most important waterways for international trade:
the Panama Canal.

The consequences of El Niño are immediate there:
the number of daily vessel transits has had to be reduced, and restrictions have been imposed on vessels’ maximum draft.

These restrictions will have global implications.

When fewer vessels can pass through the Canal, waiting times and costs increase, putting additional pressure on global supply chains.

We can observe how a climate phenomenon in one region can have consequences far beyond that region.

I could also look at the Middle East and the wider region, at the effects of the situation in the Strait of Hormuz on the supply of fertiliser. And on energy prices.

These affect us all, albeit to varying degrees.

Where people are in need today, the repercussions of the conflicts in the Middle East will increase their suffering tomorrow.

We could talk about Asia, where El Niño threatens the harvest season for rice, palm oil, coffee, corn and other crops.

You all know that the list of examples goes on and on. And wherever war and crisis unfold, climate change will worsen them even further.

Since 2019, this strategic challenge has shaped the agenda of the Berlin Climate and Security Conference.

The situation has become even more acute since then.

We all see that the impacts of climate change are steadily increasing:
extreme heat, droughts, wildfires, low water levels –
we are experiencing all of this at first hand,
here in Germany, and all over Europe.

And I believe we understand the challenge much better today than we did in 2019.

We see the global connections, the effects on food security, supply chains, mobility, industrial production, health, energy supplies and prices.

Conferences such as this one and experts like you have made a major contribution here.

Today, we are continuing in this collaborative spirit.

Here in Berlin, we are looking today at the latest developments and scientific findings.

We have put topics on the agenda that have received far too little attention to date.

Here at the Federal Foreign Office, we are experts in finding the right words.

But words need to be followed by action.

Whatever topic you take, energy security and AI or climate-induced fragility; climate adaptation or reducing climate security risks:

Our approach must be to outline concrete solutions to pressing issues.

Looking at today’s agenda fills me with confidence.

Here in Berlin, we will provide important impetus for the discussion on climate-resilient reconstruction in Syria and I would particularly like to thank the Syrian representatives for joining us today.

Solar geo-engineering is on the agenda for the first time, reflecting the need to consider not only its potential climate effects, but also the potential security risks and governance challenges that could arise from technologies capable of being deployed at planetary scale.

Today, you will also discuss the effects of climate impacts on extremism and terrorism.

Because when bases for daily live disappear and humanitarian hardship takes hold, people increasingly turn to armed groups that pretend to have quick and simple solutions to long-standing and complex problems.

We have an ambitious agenda today!

But the list of participants shows that we have brought together precisely the right people to address these issues.

Today, we have representatives from all over the world and various disciplines here with us.

Because we cannot afford to leave blind spots. We need to look at the global connections.

And stronger international cooperation is the only way to address this effectively.

Foreign policy, security policy and climate policy, as well as humanitarian assistance and economic development, must work together to strengthen resilience.

Germany stands with those states that are most severely affected by conflict and climate change.

Here, we rely on integrated approaches that address climate, peace and security as a whole.

At the level of the United Nations, we helped to establish the Climate Security Mechanism.

And together with Naoero we co-chair the Group of Friends on Climate and Security, which has grown to 81 members.

We rely on cooperation through special partnerships. Together with Kenya, we want to mitigate the effects of climate change on violent extremism through the Nairobi Toolkit within the Global Counterterrorism Forum.

Germany is supporting peacebuilding projects in countries strongly impacted by climate change.

For example through the Weathering Risk initiative, and contributing to climate-smart humanitarian action in fragile contexts through initiatives such as CERF’s Climate Action Account.

In Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, Germany is developing cross-border projects that foster climate change adaptation and peacebuilding through climate finance.

And Germany is not alone here.

We are also working within the European Union to find common solutions.

Because in the face of climate change, there can only be “us”, not “you and me”.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We want to act together with foresight, rather than putting the pieces back together afterwards.

We can make a great contribution to this today, here in Berlin.

Thank you!