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.