Climate Change is a threat to global security, says Ban Ki Moon

(July 21, 2011) Climate change is a real threat to international peace and security, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday, urging developed countries to lead the global effort to find ways to mitigate and adapt to its detrimental effects, with emerging economies shouldering their fair share of the responsibility. “Extreme weather events continue to grow more frequent and intense in rich and poor countries alike, not only devastating lives, but also infrastructure, institutions, and budgets – an unholy brew which can create dangerous security vacuums,” said Mr. Ban, addressing the Security Council’s debate on the impact of climate change on international peace and security. Mr. Ban noted that the international community had made some progress through agreements reached in Copenhagen and Cancún in the context of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), adding that those pacts formed the foundation for action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enabling all countries to adapt. He stressed that now we need accelerated operationalization of all the agreements made at Cancún, including on protecting forests, adaptation and technology. Climate finance, the sine qua non for progress, must move from a conceptual discussion to concrete delivery of ‘fast-start’ financing and agreement on sources of long-term financing,” he added. He said the next Conference to be held in Durban, South Africa, in December must make a decisive move towards achieving those goals. The Council expressed concern that possible adverse effects of climate change may, in the long run, aggravate certain existing threats to international peace and security.