UN Security Council Warns: Climate Change and Food Insecurity Imperil Global Stability
The UN Secretary-General emphasized that the Security Council ought to confront the dire and growing risks that climate instability and food shortages pose to international peace and security. “Many of the world’s poorest people are living in a hellscape of hunger and heartache due to a global food crisis,” he stated.
Furthermore, 2023 was the hottest year on record due to the fatal acceleration of the climate disaster. Conflict and climate catastrophes both exacerbate inequality, jeopardize livelihoods, and uproot people from their homes. Where there is a high level of stress, inadequate institutions, and marginalization of individuals, conflict is likely to arise, with women and girls bearing the brunt of the consequences.
Climate Change as a Security Threat
Crops are destroyed by floods and droughts, fishing is disrupted by ocean changes, freshwater and soil degradation is caused by increasing sea levels, and pests are brought about by changing weather patterns. In 2022, the primary causes of severe food insecurity for about 174 million people were conflict and climate. He gave examples of the destructive relationship between hunger and conflict, citing the following: after ten years of conflict and a devastating earthquake, nearly 13 million people in Syria go to bed hungry; in Myanmar, political unrest and conflict have reversed efforts to end hunger; and in Gaza, where there is a severe food shortage (of the 700,000 hungriest people in the world, four out of five live in that tiny strip of land).
Food Insecurity and Its Ramifications
A crucial part in enforcing compliance is played by the Council. Furthermore, in order to stop hunger from being fueled by tragedy and conflict, humanitarian missions must get complete funding. When it came to funding, he underlined that developing nations simply could not afford to invest in climate action and resilient agricultural systems because of the cost-of-living problem and unmanageable debt levels.
In order to do this, he put out the $500 billion Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Recovery Plan, which would provide accessible, long-term funding for climate action and sustainable development. To accomplish the SDGs, developing nations must prioritize spending at the same time. It is disturbing to see governments spending enormous sums on weapons while consistently cutting the budgets allocated to food security, combating climate change, and sustainable development.”
The Role of the UNSC
A few years ago, the world thought hunger could be eliminated, according to SIMON STIELL, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is intolerable that 1 in 10 people on the planet currently experience chronic hunger. Climate change will worsen if it picks up speed. “Food insecurity and conflict are exacerbated by climate change,”urging swift and decisive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and boost resilience.
The globe is rapidly warming. Storms are getting more powerful and damaging. Food output is already less than it would have been in the absence of climate change, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Huge supply shocks might occur in the not-too-distant future, and if global warming persists, food output would decrease in many nations. “The trifecta of hunger, war, and climate change is catastrophic,” he declared, stressing that “food security is a prerequisite for national security.” Furthermore, without stronger effort to halt climate change, there won’t be any food security.
Call to Action
A focus for every national adaptation plan that has been submitted to the Framework Convention thus far has been to increase food security. He suggested that the harm caused by catastrophic climatic events will be lessened by investing in climate resilience and adaptation, which includes shifting agricultural techniques toward regenerative food production. The existing international public finance flows do not even come close to meeting the demands for adaptation funding. With the exception of China, developing nations need to spend $2.4 trillion a year developing clean energy industries and mitigating the effects of climate change. “They pale in comparison to the mounting costs of crises and conflict,” the statement goes on, noting that when climate funding is implemented properly, it will help nations with substantial humanitarian needs.
Conclusion
Competition for natural resources is exacerbated by population relocation and involuntary migration during climate catastrophes. Addressing food insecurity and climate change is critical to Jamaica’s sustainable growth and survival. It highlighted national initiatives to increase agricultural productivity, stating that these were created in reaction to the serious risks of food insecurity the region faced during the pandemic, which was estimated to have affected 2.8 to 3.7 million people in the English-speaking Caribbean between 2021 and 2023. Putting money into climate adaptation and mitigation strategies is a great way to promote social cohesion, trust, and collaboration.
