The Conference will bring together officials from the OSCE, the participating States and Partners for Co-operation, as well as representatives of civil society, academia, the private sector and other international organisations.
The Finnish OSCE Chairpersonship hosts a Conference on Climate and Security in Hanasaari on 11 June 2025. The conference will offer a space for expert level exchange on current climate, peace and security environment. The event draws from the Finnish whole-of-society approach to crisis preparedness.
The conference will address the current state of affairs in climate and security agenda and elaborate on the pathways to strengthen climate resilience and promote safety and security of the people in the OSCE region.
The conference promotes inclusive multi-stakeholder approaches including cooperation with international organisations, private sector and civil society actors. The conference discusses environmental and climate cost of conflicts, the participation of business in shaping climate security, and the role of environmental and climate defenders.
The Conference will bring together officials from the OSCE, the participating States and Partners for Co-operation, as well as representatives of civil society, academia, the private sector and other international organisations.
Registration for this event has ended.
Agenda
Time
Programme
08:00
Registration
10:00-10:45
Setting the scene
Moderator and Master of Ceremony: Anthony Agotha, EU Special Envoy for Climate and Environment
Opening speeches by: Elina Valtonen, OSCE Chairperson-in-Office, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland Sari Multala, Minister of Climate and the Environment of Finland Zulfiya Suleimenova, Special Representative of the President of Kazakhstan on International Environmental Cooperation Bakyt Dzhusupov, Ambassador, Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities Victor Andersson, Programme Director at Hanaholmen
10:45-11:45
Session 1 Environmental and climate impact of conflict and the role of the OSCE Guiding questions: * What do we know about the environmental and climate impacts of war and how do we know it? * What are the do’s and don’ts in post-conflict reconstruction in terms of climate and environment? * How can international organisations support post-war environmental recovery?
Moderator: Heidi Hautala, Former Vice-President of the European Parliament and long-term MEP, Former Member of Finnish Parliament and Minister for Development Cooperation and State Ownership Steering
Panelists: Bohdan Vykhor, Country Director of WWF-Ukraine Kristina Hook, Assistant Professor of Conflict Management at Kennesaw State University (USA), Nonresident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center Samir Lemeš, Co-ordinator of the Aarhus Centre Zenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina Professor at the University of Zenica, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Impulse on UN Security Council’s work on Climate and Security by: Satu Suikkari-Kleven, Ambassador, UN Peace and Security & Global Partnerships
11:45-12:00
Musical Performance by Vilma Jää
12:00-13:00
Lunch at restaurant PLATS, Hanaholmen Climate Poetry by Vinski Valos
13:00-14:00
Session 2 Whole-of-society approach to climate security: the role of business in crisis preparedness and resilience work Guiding questions: * What are the entry points for public-private cooperation in climate security? * How can the private sector best contribute to matters relating to climate and security? * What are the options to limit the climate impact of the military build-up?
Moderator: Karl Lallerstedt, Senior Analyst at the Swedish Defence Research Agency, seconded to the European Centre of Excellence for Countering Hybrid Threats
Panelists: Ulla Heinonen, Director of Green Growth at the Confederation of Finnish Industries Vladislav Varnavskiy, Director on Environment and Safety Rami Jokela, Chief Executive Officer of Solar Foods Emma Hakala, Leading Researcher at the Finnish Institute of International Affairs
14:00-14:15
Key-note remarks Dinara Kemelova, Ambassador, Special Representative of the President of the Kyrgyz Republic for the implementation of the Five Years of Action for the Development of Mountain Regions
14:15-14:45
Coffee break
14:45-15:45
Session 3 Environmental and climate defenders Guiding questions: * What are the most significant hindrances in the access to a clean and healthy environment? How are these issues tackled at the international level? * How can we strengthen the role of civil society actors and journalists as knowledge producers in addressing environmental and climate security risks? * How to best address disinformation and misinformation related to climate change, biodiversity loss, environmental degradation and pollution? * How to ensure the meaningful participation of women’s rights defenders and environmental and climate defenders? * How to better incorporate intersectional, interdimensional and transboundary issues into the environmental and climate-related work of the OSCE?
Moderator: Kate Watters, Co-founder and Executive Director of Crude Accountability
Panelists: Michel Forst, UN Special Rapporteur on Environmental Defenders under the Aarhus Convention Barbara Trionfi, Acting Principal Adviser at the Office of the OSCE Representative on Freedom of the Media Eri Melhus, Deputy Leader of Natur og Ungdom Gabriel Paun, Writer, Advocate for Planetary Health, Peace and Cooperation on All Continents, UNEP’s Champion of the Earth
15:45-16:30
High-level closing remarks Svitlana Grynchuk, Minister for Environment of Ukraine Melita Župevc, Permanent Representative of the Republic of Slovenia to the UN and OSCE Kerstin Stendahl, Special Representative of the OSCE Chairperson-in-Office on Climate and Security
16:30-17:30
Reception hosted by the MFA and the city of Espoo Toni Sandell, Deputy Head of the Finnish OSCE Chairpersonship 2025 Task Force Kai Mykkänen, Mayor of Espoo
17:30-19:00
Screening of the documentary film The Helsinki Effect
