UNITED NATIONS – Guyana has called for a targeted and bold approach in addressing the impact of conflict on food and climate security as the world grapples to deal with their effects.
President Irfaan Ali addressing United Nations Security Council open debate on climate change (CMC Photo)President Dr. Irfaan Ali, addressing a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) open debate on the impact of climate change and food insecurity on the maintenance of international peace and security, identified several global occurrences that demonstrate the debilitating impacts of conflict on food security and climate change.
“The interrelationship between climate change, food security, and peace and security is clear. Climate change and conflict are two of the main drivers of food insecurity and often overlap, creating a vicious cycle of instability and need,” said Ali, who chaired the high-level debate on Tuesday.
“The assessment is that climate change is expected to grow significantly as a driver of conflict. We recognise too, that armed conflict can induce food insecurity and the threat of famine,” he said.
Ali said another pertinent effect is the loss of agricultural land due to war, telling the UNSC that as these lands are taken out of production, many small and medium-sized farmers are left on the breadline.
President Ali said that the impact of the war in Ukraine underscored his concern.
“The overall value of the damages and losses for agricultural enterprises is estimated at almost four billion US dollars. Most times these are small to medium size farmers with no insurance policies with no insurance policies.
“That is millions of families we’re sending to the poverty line as a result of war. We don’t speak about it. We don’t calculate it. We don’t put it in the equation, but this is the reality,” President Ali noted.
Head of the UN’s climate change secretariat, (UNFCCC) , Simon Stiell,
He said during the first 35 days of the war between Israel and Gaza, emissions amounting to approximately 60.3 million tonnes of carbon equivalent were discharged, with analysts projecting a significant uptick in total emissions to alarming levels, should the conflict continue.
“This is the conflicts and war as they exist. We have not yet calculated the impact on the environment and food in the rebuilding phase. That is another calculation that should be added to the equation.
“Most times it is the developing world that carries the greatest burden. Are we going to be bold enough to calculate these damages and assign a value to the damage as a result of conflict and war?
“Are we going to be bold enough to even address the level of criminality that exists in creating such damage? The components that constitute food and climate are sometimes missing from the overall analysis of the impact of war and conflict,” Ali said.
He said the UNSC is uniquely positioned with the ability and political will to implement critical strategies to tackle these challenges.
He, however. stressed that it is up to the council to take into account the consequential effects of war and conflict on food security and climate change.
“These issues are intricately linked to the rule of law, democracy and governance. They’re all interconnected. We therefore are up to a very strong view that the Security Council should outline a series of steps that must include a full analysis of the impact.
“And just as we adopt many measures to safeguard humanitarian interests. We must adopt measures in our procedures to deal with the effect on food and climate at a minimum. We must be bold enough,” he told the high-level debate, which represents a signature event of Guyana’s presidency of the UNSC fo the month.
The meeting is aimed at promoting enhanced understanding, more coordinated responses, and proactive approaches to addressing the linkages between food insecurity and climate change in a peace and security context.
The UNSC council members and other members were allowed to highlight opportunities to enhance international efforts to strengthen food systems, prevent acute food insecurity, and foster preparedness.
The head of the UN’s climate change secretariat, (UNFCCC), Simon Stiell, suggested that the Security Council should be requesting regular updates on climate security risks.
Stiell, a former Grenada government minister, said that every country must implement a national climate action plan to protect people, livelihoods and the natural environment.
“Investing in climate resilience and adaptation, including changing agricultural practices towards regenerative food production while working to nurture and conserve nature, would not only blunt the damage from extreme climate events, but can also ensure that future food security needs are ensured sustainably and universally, leaving no one behind,” he said.
Countries also need money for adaptation, particularly developing nations that are vulnerable to climate shocks. However, they currently require US$2.4 trillion annually to build clean energy economies and adapt to climate impacts, and funding gaps remain.
Deputy Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Beth Bechdol, also briefed the Security Council, reporting that 258 million people in 58 countries are facing high levels of acute food insecurity, with over two thirds due to climate and conflict.
While the climate crisis spares no one, “it does not affect everyone equally or in the same way. We know that the populations at greatest risk are those that depend on agriculture and natural resources. They live in rural areas, and they are farmers themselves,” Bechdol added.
