Security Council to hold unprecedented debate on climate change

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – For the first time in its history, the UN Security Council on Tuesday debates climate change, a sign that the burning issue is increasingly being seen as a major threat to world security.

The theme of the open debate, held at the initiative of Britain — the council chair this month — is “Energy, security and climate.”

“We’re looking to raise awareness of something which is gradually rising up on the agenda,” a British official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said last week.

He said the British view was that “on economic grounds the cost of inaction outweighs the cost of action.”

“But in looking at what the costs of inaction are, we feel that there is a security component and we’d like to raise awareness of that and whatever happens on Tuesday we feel that we’ve already succeeded,” the diplomat added.

AFP