BCSC Side Event: Evidence to Action: Closing the Gap on Climate Security in Crisis-Affected Transboundary Contexts

Evidence to Action: Closing the Gap on Climate Security in Crisis-Affected Transboundary Contexts

When: 5 October 2026 | 14:00-16:00

Format: 90-minute panel discussion with open debate followed by networking

Venue: British Embassy

Overview:

Climate security evidence is accumulating across multiple crisis-affected regions, yet its translation into programming and policy remains uneven. This session takes a comparative approach, drawing on research and practice from diverse contexts to examine what enables or obstructs the operationalisation of evidence on climate-related security risks on the ground.

Alongside new research on the ways in which climate change intersects with security dynamics on the ground, the panel will unpack how – and whether – this evidence reaches and influences the decision-makers working on climate security. Speakers will draw on first-hand experience of how the evidence-to-action pipeline actually works in practice: what gets through, what stalls, and where the real barriers and opportunities lie for translating research into decisions and co-operation on the ground.

Objectives:

Highlight new areas of critical research in the climate, peace and security nexus.
Build understanding of how this research informs decision-making in climate security policy and programming, and what conditions support or hinder that translation in practice.
Identify practical entry points for strengthening the link between evidence and operational response.
Discuss the challenges and opportunities for translating political will into delivery in several climate-affected conflict areas.

About the organisers:

This side event is co-organised by the XCEPT research programme and the Center for International Peace Operations (ZIF), building on their shared commitment to interdisciplinary research and policy engagement.

XCEPT brings together global and local experts to study conflict-affected borderlands, cross-border dynamics, and the drivers of violent and peaceful behaviour. Funded by UK International Development, it produces public-good research to inform policy and practice, drawing on a network of research partners including the Norwegian Institute for International Affairs (NUPI) and Mercy Corps.

ZIF has worked on Climate, Peace and Security (CPS) since 2019, supporting EU–UN policy processes and seconding German experts to multilateral organisations. Since 2022, it has been a partner of the Berlin Climate and Security Conference and co-hosted various sessions and workshops.

Provisional programme:

Opening remarks and moderation by ZIF and XCEPT

Panel Speakers:

Dr Tobias Ide, Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies, Darmstadt University and Peace Research Institute Frankfurt (PRIF); XCEPT Conflict and Climate Research Fellow
Dr Cedric de Coning, Research Professor, Norwegian Institute for International Affairs (NUPI); Principal Investigator for XCEPT research on climate-related peace and security risks in the Lake Chad Basin
Patrizia Albrecht, Climate Affairs Adviser, Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities
Nazanine Moshiri, Senior Adviser Climate & Peace, Berghof Foundation