Second Committee Rapporteur Marietta Tidei (MP, Italy) at this year's Winter Meeting in Vienna, 26 Feb. 2016COPENHAGEN, 14 June 2016 – A report and draft resolution drawing connections between economic and environmental concerns with the broader security environment of the OSCE area will be taken up by members of parliament at the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s 25th Annual Session, being held in Tbilisi, Georgia, from 1 to 5 July.

Authored by Italian parliamentarian Marietta Tidei, who serves as rapporteur of the OSCE PA’s General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment, the report and resolution make clear that many of the world’s security challenges have a component firmly rooted in the economic and environmental dimension.

“In recent years, we have seen the cascading and interrelated effects of corruption, energy, climate change, food security and migration act as contributing factors to destabilization in many areas of the world,” Tidei said. “As OSCE parliamentarians, we should work to put differences aside and co-operatively address these underlying causes that impact so many of our common security challenges.”

Tidei expressed hope that the recent adoption of the Paris Climate Agreement would spur vigorous follow-through on international climate-related commitments, noting that only when sweeping actions are taken to move rapidly to a low-carbon economy can the tide begin to turn against climate change and related challenges, including increased migration.

To help counter potential security threats resulting from climate change, the resolution also urges the OSCE to further develop its early warning capacity, which is designed to promote collective action against emerging threats. “For the OSCE to be more effective, it should enhance its preventive action mechanisms with a clear mandate that would allow us to address the potential security implications of climate change through co-ordination with other international organizations,” Tidei said.

In addition to tackling environmental problems, the resolution calls for the OSCE and its governments to pursue comprehensive solutions to challenges including food and water security, energy security, and migration. Other key recommendations highlighted in the resolution include:

• Improving the management of migration flows;
• Regulating offshore banking centres, fighting corruption, closing loopholes that enable tax evasion, and combating financial crime and money laundering;
• Combating food waste in line with the “Milan Charter,” including by reducing the share of crops used as livestock feed;
• Promoting co-operation in the energy sector, including by ensuring that intellectual property rights do not stand in the way of technological innovation;
• Making use of renewable energies and transitioning the transportation sector to electricity.

Tidei’s draft resolution will be debated and amended during a number of meetings of the OSCE PA’s General Committee on Economic Affairs, Science, Technology and Environment beginning on 2 July. The committee will also take up several other resolutions that cover additional matters related to the OSCE’s economic-environmental dimension of security. After the amendment process and their adoption by the committee, resolutions will be voted on by the full Assembly during the final day of the Annual Session on 5 July, for inclusion in the OSCE PA’s Tbilisi Declaration.

The Declaration, containing wide-ranging policy recommendations and pronouncements in the fields of security, economics and the environment, and human rights, will be sent to the foreign ministers of OSCE participating States and presented in national parliaments.

Held under the theme “25 Years of Parliamentary Co-operation: Building Trust Through Dialogue,” the Annual Session will take place at Expo Georgia Exhibition Center in Tbilisi, and is open to the media. Additional information, including the full text of resolutions and reports, is available here. Journalists interested in attending the Annual Session should register here by 20 June.

The OSCE Parliamentary Assembly is comprised of 323 parliamentarians from 57 countries spanning Europe, Central Asia and North America. The Assembly provides a forum for parliamentary diplomacy, monitors elections, and strengthens international co-operation to uphold commitments on political, security, economic, environmental and human rights issues.