How to Ensure Civic Participation if Climate Change Becomes a Security Priority?

Climate change has been increasingly framed in the Nordics not just as an environmental or economic issue, but as a serious security threat. This is especially true in the context of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), whose possible collapse has been classified as a national security issue by the Icelandic government.

Securitizing climate change can help keep it a higher policy priority and allow new actors to enter the field of climate policymaking. However, it can also justify decision-making that might bypass democratic processes and introduce unconventional tools, such as climate intervention technologies, to climate discussions.

This session aims to assess how Nordic civil society and Indigenous Peoples organisations navigate this new reality.

The key question this session aims to answer is how we can ensure civic participation and respect the rights of Indigenous Peoples while navigating the potential security aspects of climate change.

Speakers:

Justus Lehtisaari, Operaatio Arktis, Head of International Cooperation, Finland (moderator)

Anton Keskinen, Operaatio Arktis, Head of Strategy, Finland (Keynote)

Julius Mihkkal Eriksen Lindi, The Saami Council, Project Advisor, Norway

Laura Sólveig Lefort Scheefer, The Young Icelandic Environmentalists, President, Iceland

Cody Skahan, University of Oxford, Phd student, United Kingdom

Niila-Juhán Valkeapää, Finnish Sámi Youth, Board Member, Finland