" (...) Much more needs to be done to address the specific risks the climate crisis poses to peace and security.
I see four priority areas.
First, we need a greater focus on prevention through strong, ambitious climate action.
We must get the world on track to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and avoid climate catastrophe.
We must create a truly global coalition to commit to net-zero emissions by the middle of the century.
And we must mobilize a decade of transformation through a successful COP26 in Glasgow. That requires all Member States to present, well before November, ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions with targets that will allow us to cut global emissions by 45 percent by 2030 from 2010 levels.
We are also asking all companies, cities and financial institutions to prepare concrete and credible decarbonization plans.
We still have a long way to go, and we look to the major emitters to lead by example in the coming months. This is a credibility test of their commitment to people and planet.
It is the only way we will keep the 1.5-degree goal within reach.
Second, we need immediate actions to protect countries, communities and people from increasingly frequent and severe climate impacts.
We need a breakthrough on adaptation and resilience, which means dramatically raising the level of investments.
All donors and multilateral and national Development Banks must increase the share of adaptation and resilience finance to at least 50 per cent of their climate finance support. And we must make these funds accessible to those on the frontlines of the climate crisis.
Developed countries must keep their pledge of channeling $100 billion annually to the Global South. They have already missed the deadline of 2020.
We need to scale up early warning systems and early action on climate-related crises, from droughts and storms to the emergence of zoonotic diseases.
We also need stronger social protection to support those impacted.
These actions must start now, with transformative policies as we emerge from the pandemic.
Economic and financial systems must incorporate climate risk into financial analysis, so that it is captured in business models and investment decisions.
We must invest in renewable energy and green infrastructure.
In short, we must close the finance gap by increasing support to the countries and communities that are suffering the worst impacts of the climate crisis.
That support must reach women and girls, who bear the brunt of the climate crisis; and constitute eighty percent of those displaced by climate change.
Third, we need to embrace a concept of security that puts people at its centre.
The COVID-19 pandemic has shown the devastation that so-called non-traditional security threats can cause, on a global scale.
Preventing and addressing the poverty, food insecurity and displacement caused by climate disruption contributes to sustaining peace and reducing the risk of conflict.
The Nobel Committee recognized this when it awarded the Nobel Peace Prize to the World Food Programme last year.
Respect for human rights, particularly women’s rights, the rule of law, inclusion and diversity, are fundamental to solving the climate crisis and creating more peaceful and stable societies.
The 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals are the global blueprint for action.
Mr. President,
Fourth, we need to deepen partnerships across and beyond the United Nations system.
We must leverage and build on the strengths of different stakeholders, including this Council, the Peacebuilding Commission, international financial institutions, regional organizations, civil society, the private sector, academia and others.
The Climate Security Mechanism, which brings together the Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, the United Nations Development Programme and the United Nations Environment Programme, is a blueprint for such collaboration within the United Nations System.
As we work to deliver these goals, the United Nations is striving to lead by example by making sure our own operations take full account of the climate crisis.
We are working to ensure that our mediation strategies, analysis and reporting, including to this Council, consistently reflect climate risks.
In South Sudan, for example, an awareness of the impact of climate change helped our peacekeeping operation to mediate a local agreement on cattle management.
In Yemen, the Peacebuilding Fund supported efforts to restore and strengthen local water governance structures, reducing intercommunal tensions.
We are also reducing the United Nations’ environmental footprint, including through the increased use of renewable energy.
(...) 2021 is a make-or-break year for collective action against the climate emergency(...)" - António Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General [Excerpt]
Full Remarks [as delivered]: bit.ly/3aNjgwl
27 сен 2024
