UN climate change conference and the world security
“Storm Chief.” Photograph by: ©© Jennifer Daylight
Excerpts; by Ambassador Marlene Moses, Nauru’s Permanent Representative to the UN
“On Wednesday, the United Nations Security Council concluded its open debate with a Presidential Statement that formally recognized the link between climate change and the maintenance of international peace and security.
The move lays a foundation for future work on the issue and demonstrates growing concern about the potential for climate change to exacerbate existing conflicts and spark new ones as people are increasingly forced to compete for scarce resources, like food, water, and habitable land.
The outcome clearly marks a shift in the way we think about the realities of life in a warming world, but there is still disagreement over what concrete action the Security Council should now take…
Read Full Article, Huffington Post
UN Original Statement, July 20th 2010
The Security Council this afternoon expressed concern that the possible adverse effects of climate change could, in the long-run, aggravate certain existing threats to international peace and security and that the loss of territory in some States due to sea-level rise, particularly in small low-lying island States, could have possible security implications. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who opened the Council debate, pointed to the devastating impact of extreme weather and rising seas on lives, infrastructure and budgets — an “unholy brew” that could create dangerous security vacuums. “We must make no mistake,” he said. “The facts are clear: climate change is real and accelerating in a dangerous manner,” he said, declaring that it “not only exacerbates threats to international peace and security; it is a threat to international peace and security”.
UN says climate change threatens world security, AFP
U.N. Deadlock on Addressing Climate Shift, The New York Times
