On Tuesday, the Secretary-General of the United Nations cautioned that the escalation of climate-related disruptions and food shortages poses growing challenges to global peace. Addressing a high-level UN gathering, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasized that climate-related disasters jeopardize food production, contributing to societal unrest fueled by hunger.
Guterres urged the UN Security Council to confront the repercussions of food scarcity and escalating temperatures on global peace and security, a sentiment echoed by numerous nations, albeit not by Russia.
The secretary-general emphasized, “Climate and conflict are two leading drivers of our global food crisis. Where wars rage, hunger reigns – whether due to displacement of people, destruction of agriculture, damage to infrastructure, or deliberate policies of denial.”
Furthermore, he highlighted, “Meanwhile, climate chaos is imperiling food production the world over.”
Climate Chief: Climate, Hunger, Conflict Link
In the strife-ridden Gaza Strip, he remarked, a dire shortage of food prevails, with the region accounting for 80% of the world’s 700,000 most undernourished individuals.
Following over a decade of conflict in Syria, he continued, 13 million Syrians endure nightly hunger.
Moreover, in Myanmar, efforts to alleviate hunger have regressed due to ongoing conflict and instability.
Simon Stiell, the United Nations climate chief, addressed the council, emphasizing the role of climate change in exacerbating food insecurity and conflict.
He noted that one in ten people worldwide currently suffers from chronic hunger, and warned that if climate change continues unabated, the situation will deteriorate further.
Stiell stressed the urgent need for swift and sustained action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and enhance resilience, in order to prevent both crises from escalating beyond control.
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UN Climate Chief Urges Security Council Action
The executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change emphasized that the Security Council must recognize the need for proactive action rather than hoping for the issue to resolve itself, as it inevitably will not.
He underscored that the UN’s preeminent body should demand regular updates on climate-related security risks.
Beth Bechdol, deputy director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, stated that scientific evidence unequivocally indicates that climate change is jeopardizing food security, posing an escalating threat to international peace and security.
She reiterated a longstanding warning from the FAO: “There can be no food security without peace, and vice versa.”
Bechdol highlighted that 258 million people across 58 countries confront severe levels of food insecurity, with over two-thirds of them—amounting to 174 million individuals—suffering from acute hunger due to the combined impacts of climate change and conflict.
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