Annual Report 2020

In the context of the changing ”geopolitics of sustainability”, Mistra Geopolitics has established itself as an important international hub of academic research, foresight and co-creation with societal actors. Our aim moving forwards is to understand how these transformative processes are remaking the scene for global politics and governance, and how they are shaping the prospects for advancing the implementation of the 2030 Agenda.

Read the Mistra Geopolitics annual report 2020, with introduction by
Lena Ek, Chair of the Board, and foreword by Björn-Ola Linnér, Programme Director.

Lena Ek

Chair of the Board, Mistra Geopolitics

In a world that has changed radically due to the 2020 global pandemic, where poverty is again increasing, climate and biodiversity solutions are delayed, and established behaviour between states is being questioned, programmes like Mistra Geopolitics become even more important. The programme’s Board, and indeed its participating research institutions and partners, are therefore happy that Mistra Geopolitics can continue and move into a second phase. The world needs solutions.

Björn-Ola Linnér

Programme Director, Mistra Geopolitics

Ongoing efforts to secure sustainability through the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda have injected positive momentum into global affairs. The call for sustainability transformations resonates in many governments, companies and organizations around the world. At the same time, this world is marked by fragmentation and mounting conflicts, and the severe impacts of climate change and carbon emissions have begun to rise after decreasing during the pandemic.

The Mistra Geopolitics annual report include highlights from research performed in the five work packages during 2020: the first estimation of UN climate-related disaster aid worldwide; just transition and the geopolitics of decarbonization; climate-related financial risk in the age of covid; and feature articles with associated PhDs, media appearances and events and a list of publications.

Humanitarian needs crucial for UN disaster relief after climate disasters

Comments & Insights

This new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) finds that aid provided by the United Nations (UN) in the aftermath of climate-related disasters is driven by humanitarian need rather than by strategic donor interests. The results underline the importance of climate related hazards in understanding aid disbursements.

Just transition and the geopolitics of decarbonization in the EU

2020

This policy brief explores how the European Union (EU) Green Deal operationalizes the concept of just transition. It shows how the EU Commission’s approach to just transition may influence the politics of decarbonization within the EU.

Fire Sale – Managing the Geopolitics of Climate-Related Financial Risk in the Age of Covid

2020

COVID-19 starkly illustrates how the international community and global financial architecture are woefully ill-prepared for a scenario of cascading sovereign insolvencies and their geopolitical consequences. A new set of rules are urgently needed for how responsibility for climate financial risk is shared and managed between countries and institutions.

Mistra Geopolitics

Mistra Geopolitics Annual Report 2020

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