United Nations, CMC- Guyana has called for a targeted and bold approach in addressing the impact of conflict on food and climate security as the world grapples with its effects.
President Dr. Irfaan Ali, addressing a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) open debate on the impact of climate change and food insecurity on maintaining international peace and security, identified several global occurrences demonstrating the debilitating effects 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 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 recognize, 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 many small and medium-sized farmers are left on the breadline as these lands are taken out of production.
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-sized 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.
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, the developing world carries the most significant burden. Will we be bold enough to calculate these damages and assign a value to the damage resulting from conflict and war?
“Are we going to be bold enough even to address the level of criminality 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. I was stressed that it is up to the council to consider 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 of the extreme view that the Security Council should outline a series of steps that must include a complete analysis of the impact.
“And just as we adopt many measures to safeguard humanitarian interests. At a minimum, we must adopt measures in our procedures to deal with the effect on food and climate. We must be bold enough,” he told the high-level debate, representing a signature event of Guyana’s presidency of the UNSC for the month.
The meeting aims to promote enhanced understanding, more coordinated responses, and proactive approaches to addressing the linkages between food insecurity and climate change in peace and security.
The UNSC council members and others 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 vulnerable to climate shocks. However, funding gaps remain; they currently require US$2.4 trillion annually to build clean energy economies and adapt to climate impacts still need to be addressed.
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 face 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 depend on agriculture and natural resources. They live in rural areas and are farmers themselves,” Bechdol added.
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