17 April 2007The Nation
For the first time in its history, the UN Security Council on Tuesday will debate climate change, a sign that the burning issue is increasingly being seen as a major threat to world security.The theme of the open debate, held at the initiative of Britain -- the council chair this month -- is "Energy, security and climate"."We're looking to raise awareness of something which is gradually rising up on the agenda," a British official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said last week.He said the British view was that "on economic grounds the cost of inaction outweighs the cost of action.""But in looking at what the costs of inaction are, we feel that there is a security component and we'd like to raise awareness of that and whatever happens on Tuesday we feel that we've already succeeded," the diplomat added.Organizing the debate, which is to be chaired by British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett was no easy feat, the British official said, noting that several key council members such as the United States, Russia and China felt that the council was not the appropriate forum to discuss global warming.The primary responsibility of the powerful body, as defined by the UN charter, is preserving international peace and security and many UN members argue that tackling issues not directly to linked to peace, such as human rights, is not its business.But a report released Monday by a blue-ribbon panel of retired US admirals and generals warned that global climate change presented a serious national security threat that could affect Americans at home, impact US military operations and heighten global tensions.The study, titled "National Security and the Threat of Climate Change," looks at ways projected climate change is a "threat multiplier" in already fragile regions of the world, exacerbating conditions that lead to failed states, "the breeding grounds for extremism and terrorism"."Climate change is a national security issue," retired General Gordon Sullivan, a former US army chief of staff, said in releasing the report at a press conference in Washington."We found that climate instability will lead to instability in geopolitics and impact American military operations around the world," he added."Climate change is an issue which is assuming growing importance and therefore we are beginning to ponder its different aspects, the different types of ramification of the phenomenon," said a Western diplomat to explain the British initiative.
