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Small Island States champion UN vote linking climate change and security
A resolution linking climate change to national and international security was approved by the UN General Assembly on Wednesday, June third. As reported by Claudia Parsons for Reuters, the measure, pushed by small Pacific nations, situates climate change as a potential threat to security and a possible cause for conflict. The non-binding resolution could prove to be far more influential if the issue is taken up by the more powerful UN Security Council. As the first explicit acknowledgment of the potential security implications of climate change, Assembly members hope that its passage will be a signal of significance.
Amongst other points in the resolution, the 192-member General Assembly stated that it is "deeply concerned that the adverse impacts of climate change, including sea-level rise, could have possible security implications." The Assembly membership also asked UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to submit a report on possible security implications.
As the world’s governments ready their positions for the COP15 negotiations in Copenhagen in December, the impacts of this resolution could prove to be substantial.
Posted By Lopaka Purdy at 5:14pm on June 04, 2009
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