United Nations: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has highlighted "three absolute priorities" in climate action in the context of climate and security. Much bolder climate action is needed ahead of the UN Climate Change Conference (or COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, this November -- with the Group of 20 largest economies in the lead -- to maintain international peace and security, Xinhua news agency quoted Guterres as saying.
"Our window of opportunity to prevent the worst climate impacts is rapidly closing. No region is immune. Wildfires, flooding, droughts and other extreme weather events are affecting every continent," he told a Security Council high-level open debate on climate and security on Thursday. The effects of climate change are particularly profound when they overlap with fragility and past or current conflicts. It is clear that climate change and environmental mismanagement are risk multipliers.
Where coping capacities are limited and there is high dependence on shrinking natural resources and ecosystem services, such as water and fertile land, grievances and tensions can explode, complicating efforts to prevent conflict and to sustain peace, he warned. The threats are clear and present. But it is not too late to act to ensure that climate action contributes to international peace and security, he said, highlighting three priorities in climate action. The first priority is unambiguous commitment and credible actions by all countries to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius to avert the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.