India urges caution on 'actions' to tackle climate change from security perspective

NEW DELHI: India urged caution as the United Nations Security Council deliberated on the impacts of climate related disasters on international peace and security. Participating in the open debate in the UN Security Council on Friday, India pointed out the pitfalls arising from viewing actions to tackle climate change from a security perspective. It argued that a security approach to a critical challenge facing humanity may in fact hinder the global collective effort. India questioned whether the UN Security Council, given its mandate and structure, was the global institution best suited to lead a global response to a problem that requires collaboration of all countries and stakeholders.

Climate change presents an “unprecedented challenge” to global civilisation therefore must be a priority area for international cooperation. India cautioned against the fallout of that a takeover by a “structurally unrepresentative institution with an exclusionary approach” such as the UN Security Council would have on the inclusive process under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Addressing the open debate in the UN Security Council, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Syed Akbaruddin said that global institutions should be responsive to felt human needs including disaster preparedness as well as resilience and response in the face of disasters.


The nexus between climate change is “complex, contingent, and still contested”, said India’s ambassador to the UN, “hence, we as practitioners wanting to address such matters through international cooperation, face dilemmas.” Adding that the contestation is about what manner, which aspects, and which global governance mechanisms are best suited to tackling this global challenge. The complexity of the relationship between climate-related risks and conflict that often intersects with political, social, economic and demographic factors was acknowledged by Rosemary DiCarlo, the Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs in her opening remarks.

An important question is whether climate security can be achieved through the “quick fix of securitisation of climate change of climate change to address climate-related disasters”. India argued that since international peace and security considerations lead to increased focus on issues, defining climate change as a security challenge could lead to an upgrade in attention and resources devoted to addressing it. While securitising climate change may help heighten public awareness and help surmounting opposition to addressing the issue, but there are downsides to following such an approach. A securitised approach, India argued, could end up pitting countries int a competition when the most productive approach is cooperation. “Thinking in security terms usually engenders overly militarised solutions to problems, which inherently require non-military responses to resolve. It brings the wrong actors to the table,” said Syed Akbaruddin, India’s Ambassador to the UN.

India cautioned consideration of the implications of the Security Council taking lead on addressing climate change, questioning whether the institution was equipped to provide leadership on such a complex and challenging issue.

India has been critical of the Security Council's efforts to extend its reach beyond what is allocated in the UN Charter by redefining other issues put forward a fundamental question: whether climate-related disasters are amenable to the processes and solutions used to tackle threats to international peace and security.

For instance, could mitigation and adaptation strategies be fulfilled through enforcement action.

“Can those who cite counter-terrorism and non-proliferation actions by the Council as pathways for punitive measures explain who is the “other” to be held accountable for climate disasters, asked India’s Ambassador to the UN. Adding, “will it be those who do not fulfil their Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement? Or will those who do not provide climate financing as committed be forced to provide such support?”

In this context, India also highlighted the aspect of climate justice in tackling the challenge of climate change.

It cautioned to that “disruptive spillover” of shifting climate law making from the inclusive UNFCCC to a decision making by “structurally unrepresentative institution with an exclusionary approach decided in secretive deliberations”. Arguing that the disruptive impact on the UNFCCC process and the Paris Agreement and other multilateral organs currently engaged in cooperatively tackling climate change and on multilateral law making is real.

Referring to research and scholarship on the linkages between climate disasters and security, India referred to the findings of the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the UN-backed scientific assessment body on climate change. The IPCC in its most recent assessment, Assessment Report 5, concluded that the “evidence on the effect of climate change and variability of violence is contested”. However, India acknowledges that whicle climate risks are evident in some specific cases, the generalised link between climate disaster and security remain “ambigious”.

India reiterated its commitment to tackling climate change and stressed that is supports a path that promotes cooperation to achieve “our common goal” of preventing and addressing serious disasters linked to climate change, and that addressing these issues requires collaborating on climate action, “consistent with the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities.