The NATO Parliamentary Assembly on Monday (Oct. 12) adopted a resolution on climate change and international security, urging members of the North Atlantic Alliance to reach an “ambitious” climate agreement in Paris this year and to “fully recognize climate change-related risks as significant threat multipliers in their foreign and security policies”.
The resolution 427 was adopted at the annual session of NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Stavanger, Norway, together with other 7 resolutions addressing NATO’s stance towards terrorism threats, the Ukraine-Russia conflict and the current crises in the Middle East and North Africa.
The assembly was created in 1955 to discuss and influence decisions on key issues affecting the security of the Euro-Atlantic area. Although non-binding on Alliance governments and NATO itself, the Assembly’s resolutions are influential in shaping policy.
NATO’s lawmakers call upon governments of the 28 Alliance members to improve strategic awareness of the security threats increasingly posed by climate change in the form of natural disasters; increased competition for natural resources such as food and water supplies; heightened migration pressures; and growing impacts on public health.
Please continue to read on Climate Observer.
Initiated in 2015, the French Ministry for the Armed Forces organized the first international conference “Defence and climate: what are the stakes?”. Since then, the Ministry has been constantly adapting and developing its capacity of anticipation.
On 25 January 2019, the UN Security Council held an open debate to discuss the security implications of climate-related disaster events. The meeting, initiated by the Dominican Republic, underscored the global nature of climate-related disasters. Most speakers highlighted the need for better climate risk management as an important contribution to safeguarding international peace and security. The debate marks the beginning of a year in which climate security ranks high on the UN’s agenda.
Today, Friday 25th January 2019, the UN Security Council will hold an open debate addressing the impacts of climate-related disasters on international peace and security (at 4pm CET and 10am EST). President Danilo Medina of the Dominican Republic will chair the meeting, which will also include the participation of several member states at ministerial level.
The unabated growth of natural resource consumption raises risks that we will outstrip the capacities of ecosystems and governance institutions. At the same time, to achieve important global goals related to poverty alleviation, public health, equity and economic development such as those embodied in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), we will simultaneously need more resources and better management of natural resources everywhere.