Bridging climate and environmental security and crimes that affect the environment
When: 23 October 2025 | 11:15-12:25
Format: Breakout session
This session will be livestreamed. For in-person participants, please register for the session via the conference app. You can access your profile here.
Hosted by: adelphi global, INTERPOL and the German Federal Ministry of Environment (BMUKN)
Crimes that affect the environment – including wildlife crime, forest crime, crimes in the fisheries sector, illegal mining and trafficking in precious metals, and illegal waste trafficking – and climate change are increasingly interlinked. Climate change exacerbates existing vulnerabilities that criminal networks exploit, whilst crimes that affect the environment accelerate ecosystem degradation, pollution, biodiversity loss and can significantly contribute to climate change or exacerbates the effects of it.
This interconnection is particularly pronounced in Latin America – a region that hosts some of the planet’s most vital ecosystems yet is increasingly vulnerable to organized environmental crime converging in climate- and environment-related security risks. Drawing on insights from the recent Berlin Climate and Security Conference in Rio de Janeiro, which identified crimes that affect the environment as a critical pathway linking climate, environment, peace, and security in the region, and with UNFCCC COP30 on the horizon, this session will explore how crimes that affect the environment and climate security challenges in Latin America can be addressed together.
The session will delve into the scope and complexity of this convergence, whilst identifying key challenges and entry points for addressing both agendas. The discussion will bridge high-level policy perspectives with operational approaches on the ground, offering insights to strengthen integrated action in the region.
Speakers:
Carlos Sánchez Del Águila, Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Peru to the UN (Vienna)
Dr Nicole Quijano-Evans, Deputy Head of Crimes that Affect the Environment Programme, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)
Dr Marcus Schroder, Head of Division for International Cooperation, Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN)
Olivia Swaak-Goldman, Executive Director, Wildlife Justice Commission
Thomas Ungerbuehler, Assistant Director Environmental Security Sub-Directorate, Interpol
Johannes Zahnen, Senior Adviser Forest Policy, World Wide Fund for Nature Germany (WWF)
Moderated by Dr Benjamin Pohl, Head of Programme Climate Diplomacy and Security, adelphi global
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