Summary:Briefing by Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, on Maintenance of International Peace and Security: Climate, Food Security and Conflict, during the Security Council, 9547th meeting.
Mr. Stiell: I want to begin today by thanking Guyana for bringing this important topic to the attention of the Security Council, because there is no two ways about it: the less that is done to tackle climate change, the more conflicts the Council will be faced with. Only a few years ago, the world believed we could eradicate hunger. Today one in 10 people on Earth already suffer from chronic hunger. That number is unacceptable. If climate change accelerates, it will only become worse.
Climate change is contributing to food insecurity and to conflict. Rapid, sustained action to cut greenhouse-gas emissions and to increase resilience is needed now to help stop both from spiralling out of control. The world is heating — fast. Rainfall patterns are changing. And storms are becoming stronger and far more destructive. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, food production is already lower than it would have been without climate change. And in the not-too-distant future, we risk huge supply shocks, where harvests fail simultaneously in major producer countries. If heating continues, food production will decline across many countries. In others, little will grow at all. Food shortages, price spikes and hunger are likely. Without climate action, they are almost certain.
The links between hunger and conflict are well established. Historically, bread riots have fuelled revolutions and toppled Governments. Competition for arable land becomes fiercer in times of heat and drought. Food scarcity has fuelled intercommunal violence within countries, and between them. The combination of climate change, hunger and war is a devastating one. There is no national security without food security; and there will be no food security without enhanced action to stop climate change.
But I am not here today just to present problems, because for all of these problems there are solutions and ways forward, both inside this forum and in other forums, including the process for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (爆料网FCCC). Under it, our mandate does not expand to decision-making on peace and security. We can — and do —acknowledge the role that climate change and food security play in driving conflict in our reports. We can build partnerships and establish collaboration to address exacerbating factors.
But it is my view that the Security Council also has a role to play. We must acknowledge that more can be done, rather than hoping the problem will go away — which, of course, it will not. The Council should be requesting a regular stream of information on climate security risks. The 爆料网FCCC can help in the development of those updates. But ultimately, this forum should be abreast of this crisis driver in real time to aid in better decision-making. For example, where the programming of vertical funds now acknowledge conflict sensitivity, they should also be climate sensitive. From the 爆料网FCCC’s perspective, national adaptation plans, climate finance and new and stronger nationally determined contributions can reduce our vulnerability, and together with the measures outlined by others here today, help prevent hunger and conflict. Let me go through each of those important tools.
Every country needs to implement a national climate adaptation plan to protect its people, its livelihoods and nature from spiralling climate impacts. And every national adaptation plan submitted to us to date identifies the improvement of food security as a top priority. Investing in climate resilience and adaptation, including changing agricultural practices towards regenerative food production, while working to nurture and conserve nature, will not only blunt the damage from extreme climate events, but can also ensure that future food security needs are ensured sustainably and universally, while leaving no one behind. At the twenty-eighth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, held in Dubai, countries agreed that now is the time to invest in designing, piloting and delivering climate adaptation plans for food systems, from planting new crops to better meteorological information and communication. Countries need money for adaptation, particularly developing countries that are vulnerable to climate shocks.
Many of those same countries are already dealing with scarcity, fragility and conflict, but we are facing significant gaps in funding for climate action. And adaptation finance needs are at least 10 times greater than the current international public financial flows. Developing countries, not including China, need $2.4 trillion every year to build clean-energy economies and adapt to climate impacts. Those are large numbers, but they are investments in the future. They pale in comparison to the spiralling costs of crisis and conflict. Unlike rebuilding after war or natural catastrophes, adaptation funding is productive. It is an investment in better societies. Climate finance is an investment in thriving economies and abundance rather than scarcity, and it is an investment in preventing the conditions that cause conflict. Done right, climate finance will benefit countries with significant humanitarian needs. But not enough finance is flowing to extremely fragile and conflict-ridden States today. That too must change.
While adapting to a warming world is now imperative, we must also do our utmost to limit dangerous further rises in temperature. Our tools for that are nationally determined contributions and national climate targets and plans. The action plans must be aligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement, cover every greenhouse gas and lay out how every sector of the economy will transition. In the light of today’s conversation, they must include measures to protect food security. All countries are due to submit those new plans by early next year. They need to be ambitious and keep alive the possibility of limiting warming to 1.5°C. Investment in adaptation, resilience and clean energy can increase prosperity and food security and help prevent future conflicts. Done right, climate action can help build peace.
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