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Link between climate change, insecurity requires greater global attention: UAE

New York - Ambassador Nusseibeh stressed the importance of collective action to tackle the issue at hand.

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The UAE has called for greater attention from the international community on the link between climate change and insecurity at the UN Security Council Open Debate on the impact of climate-related disasters on international security, Wam reported on Saturday.
Speaking before the Council, Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, UAE's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, underscored that while climate change is not a security issue in the traditional sense, it is already worsening existing security concerns and contributing to new ones.
"Food and water insecurity, the loss of shelter, the deterioration of livelihoods, and the sense of powerlessness in the wake of repeated disasters create breeding grounds for desperation, extremism, and instability," she noted.
Ambassador Nusseibeh stressed the importance of collective action to tackle the issue at hand.

#ClimateChange will worsen existing security concerns & create new ones. Investing in climate mitigation & resilience is investing in security.
 #UAE at #UNSC pic.twitter.com/6IYxMO1SaU
- UAE Mission to UN (@UAEMissionToUN) January 26, 2019

Member States, donors & the @UN system need to explicitly target insecurity through #ClimateAction by:

?Scaling up development in places most likely to experience climate-linked insecurity
?Applying forecast-based financing to build resilience
#UAE at #UNSC pic.twitter.com/UFDOtOFbBj
- UAE Mission to UN (@UAEMissionToUN) January 26, 2019

"Addressing the link between climate change and international security does not necessarily require a change in the mechanics of the Security Council, but we should reframe climate action as a contribution to security," she continued.
She called on Member States, donors, and the UN system to scale up development work in places that are most likely to experience climate-linked insecurity or are already experiencing it. She also emphasised the value of forecast-based financing in releasing resources in advance of credibly predicted climate disasters, to stem the fallout that can trigger insecurity.
Nusseibeh concluded that the UAE hopes to see concrete initiatives that deliver simultaneous climate and security benefits at the June preparatory meeting in Abu Dhabi for the UN Climate Summit. Earlier this week, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced that the UAE will host the preparatory meeting, paving the way for the Summit on September 23 in New York.