Climate Change: A Security (Council) Issue?

Abstract

On 17 April 2007, the United Nations Security Council held a groundbreaking open debate at the ministerial level on the relationship between energy, security, and climate. As such, the meeting emphasised the need to reflect on the linkages between climate change and international security. This article explains how the topic reached the UN Security Council, highlighting the division in the international community between those who believe that climate change is a security challenge and that it is, therefore, a legitimate issue to bring before the UN Security Council, and those who believe that climate change is rather a matter of sustainable development which should be dealt with by other UN bodies.

Keywords: climate, UN, Security Council, peace, security

JEL Classification: K33