Discover the CLIMATE SECURITY EXPERT NETWORK
Through the UNFCCC and the Paris Climate Agreement, the world has made significant progress in building global institutions for addressing climate change. Yet progress in building frameworks for addressing the concurrent risks of social and political instability, insecurity and conflict that arise from the interaction of climate change with social, economic, demographic and political factors has been slower and more uneven.
Whereas these issues touch the mandates of many UN organs and agencies, the UN Charter assigns the UN Security Council (UNSC) a pre-eminent role with respect to safeguarding international peace and security. Climate change has now moved well beyond an emerging concern, and is an accelerating, well documented driver of human, national and global insecurity. There is now a growing body of evidence linking climate change with the social, political, economic and environmental drivers of conflict and fragility.
How has the UN Security Council engaged on climate-related security risks so far?
Against this backdrop, the UNSC has convened multiple high-level open debates on climate change, peace and security, and the pressure on the Council to take more decisive and systematic action continues to grow. Two complementary bodies have emerged to support this agenda: the Group of Friends on Climate and Security — a cross-regional coalition of UN Member States that advocates for stronger climate-security integration within the UN system and has delivered joint statements at key Council debates since 2018 — and the Informal Expert Group of members of the UNSC on Climate-Related Risks to Peace and Security, established in 2020 under the German UNSC Presidency, which works to advance climate-related initiatives within UN missions and promote consolidated UNSC collaboration on Climate, Peace, and Security (CPS). Within the broader UN system, the Climate Security Mechanism (CSM), a joint initiative between DPPA, UNDP, UNEP and DPO, works in parallel to strengthen coordinated analysis, knowledge management, capacity building and advocacy across the UN system. Together, these mechanisms signal a broader recognition that climate-security risks require sustained attention, not only episodic debate.
Yet this progress is now taking place in an increasingly difficult geopolitical environment. The failure of a landmark thematic UNSC resolution on climate and security in December 2021 — vetoed by Russia, with China abstaining — exposed deep fault lines among permanent members of the Council. Geopolitical tensions, particularly in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, have further constrained multilateral cooperation and narrowed the space for consensus-based action on systemic risks like climate change. Moreover, the current US administration is opposing any mentions of climate change. Despite this, engagement on climate security at the UNSC has continued, driven by committed non-permanent members and a growing body of evidence linking climate change to conflict and fragility. The Group of Friends on Climate and Security continues to grow, reaching over 75 members as of 2025 . The history below traces how this engagement has evolved — from the Council's first discussion of climate and energy in 2007 to the present day.
In April 2007, the Security Council first discussed the interlinkages between energy, climate, and security under the Presidency of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (S/PV.5663).
In June 2007, it held a meeting on Natural Resources and Conflict under the monthly presidency of Belgium.
Two years later, in June 2009, the UN General Assembly passed resolution A/RES/63/281, proposed by the Pacific Small Island Developing States (Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Tonga and Vanuatu), which asked the UN Secretary-General to produce a comprehensive report on climate change and its possible security implications.
Published in September 2009, the report (A/64/350) highlighted climate change as a ‘threat multiplier’ with the potential to exacerbate existing threats to international peace and security.
In July 2011, the German Presidency of the Security Council took the initiative to consolidate the topic within the UN framework by calling an Open Debate on climate change's impact on the maintenance of international peace and security. The main objectives of this Open Debate were to strengthen the profile of climate change on the foreign policy agenda and to form and strengthen international alliances to drive the necessary processes to address the issue.
In the context of this debate, the Council agreed on a presidential statement (S/PRST/2011/15), in which it recognises that “the possible adverse effects of climate change may, in the long run, aggravate certain existing threats to international peace and security”, and calls for conflict analysis and contextual information.
In February 2013, UK and Pakistan held an Arria Formula debate on the Security Dimensions of Climate Change.
In June 2013, the UK led an Open Debate on Conflict Prevention and Natural Resources.
In June 2015, Spain and Malaysia held an Arria Formula debate on Climate Change as a Threat Multiplier.
In July 2015, New Zealand held an Arria Formula debate on Peace and Security Challenges Facing Small Island Developing States.
In November 2015, Angola and Lithuania held an Arria Formula debate on Illicit Arms Transfers and Poaching in Africa.
In April 2016, Senegal held an Arria Formula debate on Water, Peace and Security.
In May 2016, Spain and Egypt held a Briefing on The Sahel: Impact of Climate Change and Desertification.
In November 2016, Senegal held an Open Debate debate on Water, Peace and Security.
In June 2017, Bolivia held a Briefing on Preventive Diplomacy and Transboundary Waters.
In December 2017, France, Italy, Japan, Sweden, the UK, the Netherlands, Peru, Germany, the Maldives and Morocco held an Arria Formula debate on Climate Change. Also, Japan held an Open Debate debate on Addressing Complex Contemporary Challenges to International Peace and Security.
In 2018, the Netherlands initiated a UNSC briefing on climate-fragility risks in the Lake Chad region.
A UNSC debate then took place in July 2018 under the Swedish Security Council presidency, reflecting on progress and on further needs for the Council to more effectively assess and address security risks related to climate change.
In October 2018, Bolivia held a Briefing on The Role of Natural Resources as a Root Cause of Conflict. Also an Arria Formula debate on Water, Peace and Security was led by Bolivia, Ivory Coast, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Germany, Indonesia and Italy.
In November 2018, Kuwait held an Arria Formula debate on Protection of the Environment during Armed Conflict.
In January 2019, the Dominican Republic initiated an Open Debate on The Impacts of Climate-Related Disasters on International Peace and Security, which saw an unprecedented number of Member States take the floor, many at ministerial level.
During its Security Council presidency in July 2020, Germany together with Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Estonia, France, Niger, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tunisia, the United Kingdom and Viet Nam organised a High-level Debate on Climate and Security. German Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas announced the creation of an Informal Expert Group on climate-related risks to peace and security and called for a Special Representative on Climate and Security. Many ministerial colleagues echoed the importance of the issue, drawing attention to a number of affected UN missions.
The inaugural meeting of the Informal Expert Group in November 2020 saw the participation of 19 countries, i.e. all current and 4 out of the 5 incoming UNSC members, underlining the support for the newly created body. The meeting provided Council members with an opportunity to discuss operational responses to climate-related security risks, focusing on Somalia. The local UN mission is the first to appoint an Environmental Security Advisor.
In February 2021, the UNSC convened for a High-level Open Debate on Maintenance of international peace and security: Climate and security held under the UK’s presidency. Several heads of state and government (e.g. Niger, France, Norway) and foreign ministers (e.g. Mexico, Ireland) participated in the debate. Most speakers stressed that climate change presents a collective security threat and acts as a risk multiplier. Many countries underlined the need to further operationalise the climate-security agenda.
In March 2021, the members of the Security Council held an Open Debate on Conflict and Food Security, organised by the United States. The debate underlined that the UNSC is increasingly concerned with less “traditional” security issues such as food insecurity and famine. Those interested in the complex interactions between climate, food and conflict, can learn more here. Also in March, the United States government informed the Permanent Representatives on the UNSC of its desire to join the Group of Friends on Climate and Security.
Under Ireland’s presidency, the Security Council held a High-level Open Debate on the Maintenance of international peace and security: climate and security in September 2021. During the debate, several Council Members requested a thematic resolution on climate and security and the Irish Taoiseach (Prime Minister) announced that work on the draft resolution was progressing.
In December 2021, a thematic resolution on systematically integrating climate-related security risks into the UN’s conflict prevention, conflict management and peacebuilding work was put to a vote in the UNSC. Tabled by Council President Niger and Ireland, the draft was co-sponsored by 113 UN Member States. However, in a recorded vote of 12 in favour to 2 against (India, Russian Federation) with 1 abstention (China), the Council rejected the draft owing to the negative vote by a permanent member of the Council. After the vote, many members deplored that the use of the veto had blocked what could have been a “ground-breaking” resolution and announced continued efforts towards addressing the security risks posed by climate change.
Niger and Ireland share the presidency of the Informal Expert Group in 2021, which has since met to discuss climate security challenges facing the Sahel. The Council terms of the Republics of Ireland and Kenya, as well as the Kingdom of Norway promise to continue the engagement with climate change as a foreign policy and security issue throughout 2021 and 2022. These three of the five incoming non-permanent members have promised to deepen the climate security-related work previous Council members engaged in and spoke at the Berlin Climate and Security Conference 2020. Watch the statements of Kenya and Norway here (during the panel debate) and Ireland's statement here.
In March, the UAE convened a ministerial-level Arria-formula meeting on “Climate Finance for Sustaining Peace and Security”. The discussion was focused on the direction of climate funding toward conflict-affected and fragile settings and aimed to foster coordination on near-term climate finance and security action.
August saw the adoption of a UN Presidential Statement proposed by China on the topic of capacity-building in African countries, with a focus on the impact of these processes on peace and security in the region. The production of the document included a debate around the inclusion of the term security in the paragraph focusing on climate change. The term was ultimately excluded in the final draft. This debate highlighted disagreement within the UNSC around a “securitization” of climate change, which China has generally opposed.
In October, the UNSC under Gabon’s presidency held a debate on the topic “Climate and security in Africa”, addressing the issue head-on. Statements were made by the United States, Norway, Kenya and others in support of addressing the linkage between climate change and security, whereas the Russian Federation and Brazil argued that the UNSC was not the correct forum for the issue, and that securitization of climate change threatened the overall coordination of the UN’s response to climate change. Germany made a statement on behalf of the Group of Friends on Climate Change and Security, presenting evidence and the rationale for considering the security impacts of climate change. The statement highlighted the momentum generated by the Berlin Climate and Security Conference and recognized the important role of both the UN Climate Security Mechanism and the Informal Expert Group on Climate and Security. Germany concluded by calling for a more systematic effort by the UNSC to address climate security.
An Arria-formula meeting was convened in November by Kenya and Norway with eleven other Council members on the topic “Climate, Peace and Security: Opportunities for the UN Peace and Security Architecture”. The discussion aimed to foster a debate on broadening the awareness of the UNSC on the interaction of climate, security, and peacebuilding to better achieve its mandate.
In February Malta convened a ministerial-level open debate on sea-level rise and its implications for international peace and security (1, 2). Topics included the security risks of climate-related mobility and displacement and legal disputes around changing coastlines. Notable during the discussion was the suggestion put forth by Albania for the creation of a “special representative for climate and security”, support for which was also expressed by other countries, particularly Small Island Developing States. Objections toward approaching sea-level rise as a security issue were raised by the Russian Federation and India, who spoke against security-based approaches to climate change.
A March ministerial-level Arria-formula meeting convened by Mozambique and Switzerland on the protection of water resources and access during armed conflicts included discussion of the compounding effects of climate change on armed conflict.
In June the UAE convened a ministerial-level meeting on “Climate change, peace and security” (1, 2). Germany, on behalf of the Group of Friends on Climate and Security (co-chaired with Nauru) called for the establishment of a “special representative for climate, peace and security” and the incorporation of climate risks into the mandates of UN peacekeeping and special political missions. The statement was supported by the European Union, the Republic of Korea, Ghana, Qatar, Micronesia, and others. The importance of the role of the Climate Security Mechanism was also emphasized by numerous parties.
In August 2023, UNSC members Albania, France, Gabon, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States signed a Statement of Joint Pledges Related to Climate, Peace and Security, pledging to use their terms as members and their presidencies of the UNSC to advance discussion of the implications of climate change for international security and peace.
In February, Guyana convened a high-level open debate on “The impact of climate change and food insecurity on the maintenance of international peace and security” (1, 2). The debate included the first briefing of the UNSC by the UNFCCC, delivered by its Executive Secretary, and noted the ability of the UNSC to deliver concrete action on the issue in a way in which the UNFCCC was itself not empowered to do. Guyana, in cooperation with adelphi, used the discussion as a springboard to develop a report titled “The Impact of Climate Change and Food Insecurity on the Maintenance of International Peace and Security. The report includes specific operative measures the mandate of the UNSC would allow it to take in addressing climate peace and security, as well as similar recommendations for other UN bodies.
Another high-level debate in April, convened by Malta, on “The role of young persons in addressing security challenges in the Mediterranean” included pertinent discussions on the threats to security in the Mediterranean posed by climate change, particularly around food security and population displacement.
In July Slovenia, Guyana, the Republic of Korea, and Sierra Leone organized an Arria-formula meeting titled “Stepping up Preventive Action: From Environmental Challenges to Opportunities for Peace”, which explored concrete steps the UNSC could take to strengthen conflict prevention regarding natural resource-based tensions, with consideration to the role climate change plays in amplifying these risks.
2024 also saw eight joint press stakeouts of the UNSC members that have joined the Joint Pledges on Climate, Peace and Security (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8).
In November, Sierra Leone convened a briefing on “Climate and security: environmental impact of armed conflict and climate-driven security risks”, which saw experts from humanitarian, environmental, and legal backgrounds present on the rapidly growing linkage between climate and conflict. Support for the role of the Climate Security Mechanism was expressed, including by the United Kingdom and the Republic of Korea, but strong objection to the role of the UNSC in addressing climate security was expressed by the United States and the Russian Federation.
Later in November, Sierra Leone convened a high-level open debate on conflict-related food insecurity. During the debate Guyana briefed the UNSC on the nexus of climate change, food insecurity, and conflict and offered insights from the relevant report released with adelphi the previous year. The Deputy Secretary-General emphasized the role of climate stress as an igniter of conflict and the importance of climate adaptation in mitigating this risk. Speakers representing Sierra Leone, Denmark, Panama, Pakistan, Algeria, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, Slovenia, Kazakhstan, Philippines, the European Union, Italy, Chile, and South Africa also mentioned the role of climate change on the issue.
2025 also saw six joint press stakeouts and stake-ins of the UNSC members that have joined the Joint Pledges on Climate, Peace and Security (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
UNSC resolutions on specific regions and topics
The discussions on climate-related security risks in the UNSC have led to several resolutions on specific regions and topics that emphasise the adverse effects of climate change and - more importantly - request the operationalization of the issue through adequate risk assessments and risk management strategies. In response to US objections to explicit mentions of climate change, a number of resolutions now refer to specific climate change impacts such as drought instead. These references to CPS, both direct and indirect, have entered into resolutions and presidential statements on a wide range of regional and cross-cutting thematic issues including Lake Chad, West Africa and the Sahel, Somalia, Mali, Sudan and South Sudan, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the “Silencing the Guns in Africa” initiative, Iraq, Cyprus, Afghanistan, Haiti, Libya, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Women, Peace and Security.
The UN Climate Security Mechanism maintains a comprehensive, searchable database of specific UNSC decisions with CPS references.
These decisions demonstrate that even within a Council fragmented in its positions on CPS, coordinated action is possible. Though a thematic resolution on CPS seems unlikely in the near future, integration of its principles into further regional and cross-cutting thematic resolutions and presidential statements is both possible and much-needed.
Podcast: The UNSC's role in addressing climate related security risk
In this episode of the Climate Diplomacy Podcast, CSEN member Oli Brown discusses some of the challenges that the UN Security Council has had in tackling climate change and outlines the prospects for action in the future.
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This article was originally published on 18 January 2022 and last updated on 4 March 2026.
