With an estimated 3.5 billion people living in “climate hot spots”, related peace and security risks are only set to heighten, UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations Jean-Pierre Lacroix told the Security Council on Tuesday, warning that action must be taken to avert ever-worsening effects.
Climate shocks are triggering worsening security environments, from Afghanistan to Mali, and UN peacekeeping missions are taking steps to adapt, from reducing their carbon footprint to addressing myriad related consequences.
“Given the growing linkages of climate change, peace, and security as well as the broader changes to the conflict dynamics in the areas in which we work, we must continue to adapt,” he said.
He noted that the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessment report, showed that climatic and such risks as biodiversity loss and violent conflict will increasingly interact.
At the Security Council’s second formal meeting of 2023 to debate this trend, more than 70 speakers, including former Colombian President and Nobel Prize laureate Juan Manuel Santos, exchanged views on connections between climate change and worsening security.