UN chief slams ‘distressing’ spending on arms over climate

UN Secretary- General Antonio Guterres lamented Tuesday the emphasis placed by some
governments on buying weapons at the cost of policies tackling global warming
and hunger.

“It is distressing to see governments spending heavily on arms, while
starving budgets for food security, climate action, and broader sustainable
development,” Guterres told a Security Council meeting on the links between
food, climate and conflict crises.

“We can break the deadly nexus of hunger, climate chaos, and conflict. And
quell the threat they pose to international peace and security,” he said,
calling for the United Nations to act with policies addressing all three
issues “together.”

Without action, “the situation will deteriorate,” he warned. “Conflicts are
multiplying. The climate crisis is set to spiral, as emissions continue to
rise. And acute food insecurity has been increasing year on year.”

UN climate chief Simon Stiell emphasized the links between the three issues,
telling the Council that combined they are “devastating.”

“There is no national security without food security. And there will be no
food security without enhanced action to stop climate change,” he said.

“If heating continues, food production will decline across many countries. In
others, little will grow at all. Food shortages, price spikes, and hunger are
likely. Without climate action they are almost certain.”

To illustrate the fatal link between global warming, agriculture and
conflict, several speakers highlighted land-use disputes in West and Central
Africa between nomadic herders, who sometimes move from country to country,
and sedentary farmers.

“Climate change and environmental and security pressures have altered these
migratory routes,” warned Beth Bechdol, deputy director-general of the UN
Food and Agriculture Organization, citing countries such as Burkina Faso,
Mali and Niger.

“This has led to a steady increase in tensions between farming and herding
communities, often linked to growing competition for already scarce natural
resources, such as water and land, or to damage incurred to crops in fields,”
she said. (BSS/AFP)