Over 200 participants-including representatives from OSCE participating States, Partners for Co-operation, OSCE structures, civil society, international organizations, and subject-matter experts-gathered in Prague for the Chairpersonship Forum, "Building a Resilient Future in a Changing Climate", held on 11 and 12 September.
Organized under Finland's 2025 OSCE Chairpersonship, in co-operation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities, and the OSCE Documentation Centre in Prague, the Forum addressed forward-looking ways for participating States to strengthen their resilience and responses to security challenges stemming from climate change.
"As conflicts and wars take center-stage, climate-related risks and environmental degradation are in danger of fading into the background. Russia's war in Ukraine has placed climate and environmental co-operation in a new and challenging light," said Elina Valtonen, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland. "The OSCE is a particularly suitable forum for discussing the links between climate and security, thanks to its comprehensive security approach, mandate supporting broad dialogue, and framework that allows these connections to be explored holistically."
The Forum featured a high-level opening with welcoming remarks by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Jan Lipavský, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Elina Valtonen, OSCE Secretary General Feridun H. Sinirlioğlu, Ukraine's Deputy Minister of Economy Pavlo Kartashov, and Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities Bakyt Dzhusupov.
Four key thematic sessions focused on investments in climate resilience through a whole-of-society approach, climate action driven by cross-sectoral co-operation, the role of climate data and innovation in the age of information security, and the inclusion and agency of youth in climate security.
A research study commissioned by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, "Strengthening the OSCE's Climate and Security Agenda", was also presented at the Forum, and a subsequent panel discussion assessed advancing the role of the OSCE in climate change and security.
The Forum reaffirmed that a resilient future in a changing climate is not merely a policy option, but an urgent imperative for sustainable development and regional stability.
