The 15 countries most vulnerable

In respect of security, the new outlook on the climate-security nexus fits within a wider EU toolbox, as did the earlier EEAS concept for an integrated approach on climate change and security of October 2021. This integrated approach explicitly mentions the Lake Chad Basin, the Aral Sea, Iraq and Afghanistan among the numerous examples of ‘the interplay between climate change, environmental degradation and security’. It also sets out some pathways to strengthen considerations on climate change impacts into various EU external policies and instruments (conflict prevention, crisis response, conflict resolution, stabilisation and security strategies). Some of the ways in which the EU supports third countries affected by the security implications of climate change are illustrated below.