Public Diplomacy for the Climate – Cities as the New Participant

We are witnessing a deepening climate crisis that not only threatens people’s livelihoods and hinders development, but raises important geopolitical issues: sovereignty, territorial integrity and access to resources such as water, food and energy. It has the potential to cause significant impacts on societies, undermining people’s security and increasing the risks of conflict and instability. Addressing them requires a strategic and coordinated response at the global level. The tools of public diplomacy are among the possible steps for solutions and responses. While climate diplomacy largely refers to negotiations between governments in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), numerous scientific analyzes and concrete facts show that climate issues and the „diplomacy“ surrounding them go beyond this narrow perspective or frame. A large percentage of climate initiatives are actually carried out by global networks of cities.