At UN, a call to recognize climate change causes conflict

File photo of an environmental protester chatting to a cyclist as he stands with placards and plastic bottles in London. (AP)

• President Mohamed Bazoum made the appeal at a meeting of the council, where his country holds the presidency in December
• Diplomats say that Russia has threatened to veto the draft

UNITED NATIONS, United States: Niger called Thursday for a UN resolution formally linking climate change and security issues around the world but Russia, China and India opposed the idea.
President Mohamed Bazoum made the appeal at a meeting of the council, where his country holds the presidency in December.
Niger hopes for a vote on a draft resolution that asks UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “to integrate climate-related security risk as a central component into comprehensive conflict-prevention strategies.”
Diplomats say that Russia has threatened to veto the draft.
“For us, a direct link between terrorism and climate change is far from obvious,” Russian UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the council.
A resolution would cause confusion and overlap with other forums dealing with global warming, he said.
Bazoum said the Security Council needed “an integrated and coordinated approach” to boost its ability to understand the impact of climate change.
France backed the approach, saying there was a “clear link” between conflict and climate change, with food insecurity and scarce water allowing armed groups to recruit more easily.
The United States has also said climate change is a security issue.
Last year Germany dropped plans for a similar resolution because the United States under Donald Trump threatened to veto it, but President Joe Biden’s administration has backed the initiative.