The new SIPRI publication “The Peacebuilding Commission and Climate-Related Security Risks: A More Favourable Political Environment?” provides a reflection on the potential of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) to become the overarching UN-body that brings together different bodies of the UN and nation-states on the issue of climate-related security risks.
Climate change and the associated climate-related security risks increase instability and have significant adverse effects on peacebuilding. However, within the UN, there is a lack of consensus on which bodies are most appropriate to respond to climate-related security risks.
SIPRI argues that the PBC has demonstrated a growing role as a forum for member state discussions on this issue. The PBC, with an emphasis on national ownership, has a mandate to work across the fields of peace and security, development and human rights at the UN. It brings together the Security Council, Economic and Social Council, General Assembly and other organs of the UN, and convenes relevant stakeholders from within and outside the UN system.
This study shows that these attributes combine to make the PBC uniquely positioned as a forum for states to seek international support in relation to emerging climate-related security challenges.
Read the full publication here.
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