Climate will have crucial change in global peace and security

The persistent inability of the United Nations to forge international consensus on climate change issues was on display Wednesday, as Security Council members disagreed over whether they should address possible instability provoked by problems like rising sea levels or competition over water resources.

Achim Steiner, the Executive Director of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) told the Council that humanity was at a point in its history where it has the capacity to fundamentally alter, within one or two generations, the conditions on which societies have evolved over millennia.

“It is the speed of environmental change, including climate change, that will be increasingly at the heart of our collective concern and response,” said Mr. Steiner. “There can be little doubt today that climate change has potentially far-reaching implications for global stability and security in economic, social and environmental terms which will increasingly transcend the capacity of individual nation States to manage,” he added.