Mr. President, Members of the Security Council, Secretary-General, Excellencies, and Colleagues,
I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the fourteen Member States of the Pacific Islands Forum with presence here at the United Nations, namely; Australia, Federated States of Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Zealand, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu and my own country, Fiji.
At the outset let me extend our deep appreciation to the President of the Security Council and Taoiseach of Ireland, H.E. Micheál Martin T.D. for chairing this high-level Open Debate. I also thank United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres for his brief and the members of the Security Council for ensuring that the dialogue on climate and security continues to remain a part of this very important body.
Urgent action on climate change and security is needed to ensure the survival of the Pacific Island peoples that our Forum serves and represents here today. This was reaffirmed last month in the Fifty-First Pacific Islands Forum Communique (6 August), in which climate change was recognised by our Leaders as the single greatest threat facing our Blue Pacific region.[1] We count ourselves among other regional organisations including the African Union, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the European Union in recognising the grave implications of climate-related security risks for peace.
Climate change and security
While COVID-19 pandemic response and recovery efforts remain the immediate focus across the world, the climate crisis facing Pacific island countries continues. There is increasing concern from our region that COVID-19 might be used to delay the immediate and urgent need for ambitious actions to curb the continual rise in greenhouse gas emissions which, according to the latest IPCC report, could result in irreversible changes in the Earth’s climate system.[2]
What this means for our Blue Pacific Continent, home to many populations living on atolls and low-lying coastlines barely a few meters above sea level, is that climate change impacts present the single greatest security threat to our very survival as peoples, communities and nations. I cannot stress enough that time is of the essence, with climate change the ultimate ‘threat multiplier’ aggravating already fragile situations and potentially contributing to further social tensions and upheaval.
To promote durable and sustainable development, human security and peace we must address and act on the interaction of climate change with socio-economic, political and demographic factors. Failure to do so will come at a high cost particularly for our island-dwelling peoples, with livelihoods, security and well-being put at risk.
Our Pacific Leaders are leading the way in this context. We are defining the collective future we want for our children through the development of our 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific.[3] This collective vision will put climate change at the centre of our development plans and together we will take ownership of and collectively respond to pressing challenges ahead.
Our Leaders have also endorsed the Boe Declaration on Regional Security (2018) which promotes an expanded concept of security, elevating climate security as the greatest single threat to security for the peoples of our region.[4] We appreciate the Chair’s recognition of this important Declaration for our region and its alignment with the Security Council’s recent discussion on maritime security.
Our efforts have been further elevated through the recently endorsed Declaration on Preserving Maritime Zones in the Face of Climate Change-related Sea Level Rise (6 August).[5] This Declaration recognises that in order to promote a peaceful, secure and sustainable future for our region, our maritime zones as established and notified to the UN Secretary-General in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the rights and entitlements that flow from them shall continue to apply without reduction, notwithstanding any physical changes connected to climate change-related sea-level rise. We also welcome the work of the International Law Commission on sea-level rise in relation to international law.
These endeavors, while crucial for our security, do not alter the fact that Pacific Island Nations are facing a crisis which can be averted if we come together as a global community to generate urgent action. We cannot leave our collective future to chance by turning a blind eye to the catastrophic climate events taking place around the globe, with the most recent, Hurricane Ida, impacting the very place where the United Nations Headquarters stands as a symbol for world peace and security and this august body meets.
The Security Council’s role
The Security Council has a central role to play in mainstreaming the security dimensions of climate change within the United Nations and in facilitating action to mitigate climate-related instability before it leads to conflict. We believe this to be in alignment with the spirit of preventive security in UN Charter Article 1.1.
We welcome the Security Council’s recognition of the Women, Peace and Security agenda as a cross-cutting subject and further emphasise the gendered nature of climate-related security risks, which affect women, girls and the most vulnerable disproportionately.
We also recognise the work of the inter-agency Climate Security Mechanism and the Group of Friends on Climate and Security, which continues to grow and now counts 59 members from around the world, including 12 members of the Pacific Islands Forum. We join other member states and civil society actors in calling for the UN response to be coordinated by a newly appointed Special Rapporteur on Climate and Security.
The Security Council can and should add its weight to calls to ensure that all efforts towards a just and lasting peace are in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. While climate mitigation remains the most effective way to reduce climate impacts, more investment is also needed to ensure vulnerable states can effectively adapt to the impacts of climate change which are already occurring. Building resilience, disaster risk reduction and adaptive capacity allows countries to better cope with climate-related events before they become security challenges.
Finally, we call on the global community with a united voice to uphold the goals of the Paris Agreement. The Paris Rulebook must be finalised at COP 26. The Paris Agreement is not just a political tool, we cannot overstate the urgency of taking the actions necessary to make net-zero emissions achievable by all countries, in order to keep within reach the 1.5-degree temperature goal of the Paris Agreement and to protect the collective peace, security and wellbeing of our and future generations.
I thank you.