(Image source from: www.thehindu.com)

India calls for a cautionary approach on linking climate change to security. It is wrong to over militarised solutions to problems which need non military responses.

By doing so it will disrupt the 2015 Paris Agreement and multilateral efforts to find solutions, Syed Akbaruddin told Security Council.

Syed Akbaruddin, India’s Permanent Representative speaking at the opening debate at UN Security Council on “ Addressing the Impacts of Climate related disasters on International peace and security.”

“Climate change is unprecedented challenge to Global civilization,” he said.

“Global institutions needs to be responsive to felt human needs, including disaster preparedness, as well as resilience and response in the face of disasters. Such phenomena tend to threaten human well-being”

“The nexus between climate change and security is complex, contingent, and still contested. Hence, we as practitioners wanting to address such matters through international cooperation, face dilemmas,”he said. 

"Can the needs of climate justice be served by shifting climate law-making from the inclusive UN Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) to decision-making by a structurally unrepresentative institution with an exclusionary approach decided in secretive deliberations?" 

"Since international peace and security considerations often trump other considerations, defining a problem as a security challenge often upgrades attention and resources devoted to addressing it," he said. 

“In short, it brings the wrong actors to the table. As the saying goes, “If all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail,” he said.

“India supports a path that promotes cooperation to achieve common goal of preventing and addressing serious disasters linked to climate change.”

"To address such issues, we need to collaborate on climate actions, consistent with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities," he added.

-Sai Kumar