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Beckett chairs UN climate debate Beckett chairs UN climate debate
(about 14 hours later)
Climate change could lead to increased instability and world conflict, Britain's foreign secretary is due to tell the UN. Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett justified the UN Security Council's first debate on global warming by linking the issue to security.
Margaret Beckett, who is chairing the Security Council's first ever debate on global warming, will highlight the food and water shortages it may cause. Russia and China said that as an international security watchdog, the 15-member council was not the right place to debate climate change.
This will make the security situation in the world worse, she will warn. But Mrs Beckett said an unstable climate could lead to increased world conflict.
But the BBC's Matt McGrath says there are many UN members who are unlikely to accept Mrs Beckett's arguments. The debate was initiated by Britain, which holds this month's presidency.
Russia and China have already said the council is not the appropriate place to debate the issue. Two world wars
And many developing countries see global warming as a problem of global justice, rather than just a security threat. Speaking before the debate, Mrs Beckett told reporters: "This is a ground-breaking day. For the first time we will debate climate change as a matter of international peace and security.
These countries believe that helping their people adapt should be the priority. "An unstable climate will exacerbate some of the core drivers of conflict - such as migratory pressures and competition for resources."
'Substantial' danger She said the Stern report on climate change, which was commissioned by the British government, warned of potential economic disruption on the scale of the two world wars and the Great Depression.
Before the meeting, Mrs Beckett said she believed climate change would affect "conflict and the drivers of conflict". "That alone will inevitably have an impact on all of our security - developed and developing countries alike."
"All the problems that the Security Council is charged to face... are issues which we believe are going to be made worse by the impact of climate change," she said. Mrs Beckett cited the need for the world to recognize that "there is a security imperative, as well as economic, developmental and environmental ones, to tackling climate change".
Substantial parts of the world risk being left uninhabitable by rising sea levels British government document class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/6559211.stm">UN council takes on new task She also said there was a need to "to begin to build a shared understanding of the relationship between energy, climate and security."
"By the instability that causes, by the pressure on water resources, food. All things that we see as a growing and substantial potential danger." Developing countries
The debate was initiated by Britain, which holds this month's presidency of the 15-member council. UN chief Ban Ki-moon also emphasised that "issues of energy an climate change have implications for peace and security".
As examples, he said that scarce resources such as water and food could help turn peaceful competition into violence while migrations driven by climate change could deepen tensions and conflict.
But Pakistan's UN delegate Farukh Amil, representing China and developing countries, said it was "inappropriate" for the Security Council to debate climate change.
He said there were other UN bodies which were better suited to dealing with the issue.
South Africa's UN ambassador Dumisani Kumalo also stressed the need for other UN bodies to help developing countries to deal with disaster and humanitarian crises caused by climate change.
The British mission to the UN has circulated a paper explaining why it feels a discussion is needed.The British mission to the UN has circulated a paper explaining why it feels a discussion is needed.
It warns of "major changes to the world's physical landmass during this century", which will cause border and maritime disputes.It warns of "major changes to the world's physical landmass during this century", which will cause border and maritime disputes.
"Areas of concern include the possible submergence of entire small island states [and] dramatically receding coastlines," it says.
Some 200m people could be displaced by the middle of the century and "substantial parts of the world risk being left uninhabitable by rising sea levels".Some 200m people could be displaced by the middle of the century and "substantial parts of the world risk being left uninhabitable by rising sea levels".
And there could be conflicts over "scarce energy resources, security of supply and the role energy resources play once conflict has broken out", the document adds.And there could be conflicts over "scarce energy resources, security of supply and the role energy resources play once conflict has broken out", the document adds.