Simon Stiell tells audience in Cop31 host nation Turkey that climate extremes are fuelling famine, displacement and war
National security strategies that fail to take account of the climate crisis are “dangerously narrow”, and will leave countries open to “a new world disorder” threatening famine and conflict, the UN’s climate chief has warned.
The warnings came as a draft of a key agenda for the Cop31 climate conference omitted to mention fossil fuels, and skewed instead to the interests of the Turkish hosts, such as waste management and tourism.
Simon Stiell, the executive secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, said: “Security is the word on most leaders’ lips, yet many cling to a definition that is dangerously narrow. For any leader who is serious about security, climate action is mission critical, as climate impacts wreak havoc on every population and economy.”
Leaders and high-ranking officials from dozens of governments will gather in Munich this weekend for an annual conference on security. But the climate is likely to be low on the agenda, as countries discuss military spending and global instability.
