The Climate Security Mechanism (CSM) is a joint initiative by the United Nations Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs (DPPA), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and the United Nations Department of Peace Operations (DPO). Responding to growing calls for action by affected communities, Member States, regional organizations, experts and policymakers around the world, the CSM seeks to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations (UN) and its partners to systematically analyze and address the linkages between climate change, peace and security.
Established in late 2018, the CSM draws on the complementary resources of DPPA, UNDP, UNEP, and DPO. Given the fast-evolving policy field of climate, peace and security, there is an ‘action gap’ between the ambition for integrated approaches and current practice. The Climate Security Mechanism has supported work that aims to close this gap by raising awareness, connecting UN entities, building on existing UN expertise across mandates and building up the knowledge base. While the CSM lacks the resources and mandate to directly address the full extent of the action gap, the CSM can be instrumental in helping more climate, peace and security work to emerge and synergizing with other initiatives.
In 2023, the CSM entered a new phase designed to scale up good practices from the CSM’s work to date, expand its service offer, and maximize its catalytic impact, while further leveraging the political and technical expertise of its entities.
