Journal Article published in Earth Systems Governance Journal, Jan 2025.
This new article examines the evolving perspectives of Global South countries (often framed as a monolithic entity), within the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) debates on climate security from 2007 to 2023.
The discourse surrounding the security implications of climate change remains contested, nevertheless, there is an increasingly consolidated perspective among academics, policymakers, and think tank experts, asserting its status as a significant security concern. This recognition stresses the need for international security institutions to engage with climate change by the foremost international security institution. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) first addressed climate security in 2007. Since then, the UNSC has organized open debates, meetings, and informal expert groups to examine the impacts of climate change on global peace and security. These initiatives include the 2011 Presidential Statement and the unsuccessful 2021 resolution proposed by Niger and Ireland, which sought formal recognition of climate security. However, considerable debate persists regarding the Council’s role in addressing climate change as a security issue. Within this landscape, one salient critical theme that emerges is the enduring Global North-South divide within the UN institutions, often identified as a major roadblock for global climate action.
This binary divide not only highlights material inequalities but also illustrates how politically charged disputes are intellectualized, shaping debates across multiple sectors. These tensions often stall negotiations and hinder the development of equitable and effective global environmental solutions, as seen in climate change discussions in which both sides frequently struggle to reconcile their differences. There exist large divergences within the Global South, particularly concerning the ethical and practical feasibility of addressing climate security within the UNSC’s mandate. Simultaneously, developed countries have raised concerns about perceived preferential treatment of countries such as China and India, whose cumulative carbon emissions surpass those of many developed countries.
A key finding of this article is that while there is a growing consensus within the Global South that climate change poses significant security risks, there remains substantial resistance to UNSC involvement in addressing these risks. The article concludes that the Global South, as a category, may have limited utility in understanding the role of the UNSC in climate security. Instead, smaller, more focused coalitions like Small Island Developing States (SIDS) offer a more coherent and meaningful framework for understanding how states approach climate security.
These are extracts from a journal article written by Varun Mohan, January 2025. The full article can be found via the link here.