Belém, Brazil— The damage caused by climate change is the greatest threat to world peace, said the president of the General Assembly of United Nations.
“For those who argue that in these times we should focus more on peace and security, one can only say that the climate crisis is the greatest security threat of our century,” Annalena Baerbock told The Associated Press in an interview during the U.N. climate talks in Brazil.
“We can only ensure lasting peace and security in the world if we fight the climate crisis together and if we join forces to deliver on sustainable development, because they are strongly interconnected,” said the former German Foreign Minister.
1/11 | Stunning images: landslides in California leave communities cut off and drivers trapped. Landslides caused by heavy rains in California swept away trees and rocks, burying roads, damaging homes and trapping drivers for 10 hours. – The Associated Press
Baerbock mentioned droughts and other damage caused by climate extremes in places like Chad, Syria and Iraq. When crops die, people go hungry and then migrate to other places or struggle due to water scarcity, he said.
“This is a vicious cycle,” Baerbock said. “If we do not stop the climate crisis, it will fuel hunger and poverty, which in turn will cause displacement and challenge regions in a different way, again leading to instability, crisis and often also conflict. Therefore, combating the climate crisis is also the best security insurance.”
But at the same time, addressing climate change issues can make the world more peaceful, Baerbock said, referring to water conflicts in Central Asia. There, a water agreement became “an impetus for peaceful cooperation and resolution.”
Drought can take a long time to have an impact, but storms exacerbated by the warming of the Earth’s atmosphere can hit in an instant. Baerbock pointed out the Hurricane Melissa from last month that devastated Jamaica and two typhoons that hit the Philippines.
“The achievements of sustainable development can diminish in just hours,” Baerbock said. Therefore, foreign aid from rich nations to poor ones to help confront climate disasters and adapt to future ones “are also investments in stable societies and regions,” he said.
Baerbock, a veteran of climate conferences, said people mocked young people from small island nations who filed a lawsuit at the International Court of Justice over climate change, damages and their future. But the court’s ruling in July that steps must be taken to limit warming “shows the power of the world working together,” he said.
The small island nations have said they will take the court’s decision to the U.N. General Assembly, where votes are decided by a majority, unlike the veto power of the U.N. security council or the unanimity consensus of the organization’s climate talks.
“It is now up to the majority of member states whether they want to present a resolution that underlines the importance of this case,” Baerbock said, adding that it must follow the wishes of the majority of the 193 UN member states.
“The vast majority of Member States have called not only at the last climate conferences, but also here in Belém, for the transition of our fossil world, not because of the climate crisis, but because they underline that this is the best investment in security for all of us,” said Baerbock.