Translated: Statement by Ambassador Zhang Jun at the Security Council Open Debate on Climate and Security

China welcomes Minister Muhairi for presiding over today’s meeting and thanks Under-Secretary-General Lacroix, Mr. Santos and Ms. Kedri for their briefings.

The challenges of climate change to human life and the development of all countries are becoming more and more prominent, and it has become more urgent and important for the international community to unite and collaborate to address climate change. China supports the international community to adhere to the main channel of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities, equity and respective capabilities, strengthen policy coordination, increase support for developing countries in terms of finance, technology and capacity building, fully and effectively implement the Convention and its Paris Agreement, and promote continuous new progress in global climate governance. China supports the important role of the United Nations in addressing climate change and fully supports the UAE in hosting the 28th Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and believes that under the leadership of President Sultan Al Jaber, the conference will achieve important positive results.

Regarding the relationship between climate and security, the Council has met several times to discuss it, and it is clear that there are differences of opinion that still need to be explored in depth. On the one hand, we have seen that in developing countries with weak climate resilience, extreme weather and natural disasters are frequent, seriously undermining development gains, exacerbating resource tensions and triggering communal conflicts. At the same time, from a broader perspective, the link between climate change and security risks is very complex, and the exact transmission mechanism between the two is not yet fully understood. It is not scientific to deny that there is a link between climate and security, nor is it scientific to generalize climate issues and talk about the security implications of climate change in isolation from specific contexts. The key is to do the right thing in the right way.

To this end, we advocate that the Security Council should make specific analysis of the relationship between climate and security, taking into account its own mandate, established agenda and specific country situations, as well as the resources and means at its disposal. We should adhere to a problem-oriented approach, identify the root causes of security risks, and propose practical and effective solutions. Haiti’s recent floods have exacerbated the humanitarian situation, which is somewhat linked to climate change, but the underlying challenges in Haiti remain gang violence and political corruption. Iraq faces ecological challenges such as water scarcity, drought, and desertification, which are also somewhat related to climate change, but the primary challenge in Iraq is the severe consequences of foreign invasion. Years of warfare, including the use of depleted uranium munitions by outside forces, have led to irreparable degradation of Iraq’s ecological environment, and the legacy of war has rendered large areas of land unusable. If these root causes are ignored in the work of the Security Council, it is unlikely that the right direction will be taken to solve the problem and that it will have the desired effect.

It is also worth considering why the economic and social consequences of climate extremes are different in North America and the Pacific Islands. It is clear that there is a huge difference in the ability of countries to cope with climate change, and behind it is a huge gap in the level of development. Therefore, the most fundamental way to interrupt the transmission of climate change to security risks is to start with development, help developing countries cross the development divide and improve their climate resilience and response capacity. In this regard, the Security Council should not become a talk shop and pursue “political correctness”, but should be down-to-earth and do something practical for developing countries to address security risks in accordance with its own mandate.

First, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its Paris Agreement are the most important guidelines for addressing climate change. The basic consensus that is clear from the Convention is that developed countries have a historical responsibility for global climate change. They are supposed to take the lead in significantly reducing emissions and achieve net zero or even negative carbon emissions earlier. Unfortunately, since last year, some developed countries have regressed in their energy policies, and fossil energy consumption and carbon emissions have increased rather than decreased, a disturbing situation that deserves the Council’s close attention. This also raises the question that if climate change constitutes a potential security threat, does the negative retrogression in the implementation of emission reduction obligations, including unilateral withdrawal from the Paris Agreement, also constitute a threat to international peace and security? Can the Security Council take enforcement measures to correct these negative behaviors as authorized by the UN Charter? This deserves our in-depth consideration.

Second, inadequate financing is the most important bottleneck for global climate governance. Developed countries have a lot of historical debts on climate finance and need to fill the $100 billion annual gap as soon as possible and set new collective quantitative funding targets after 2025. Last year’s Sharm el-Sheikh Conference (COP27) established the “Loss and Damage Fund”, and developing countries are eagerly awaiting the fund to be operationalized as soon as possible. The relevant UN agencies should play a role in promoting the implementation of the fund, including the establishment of a mechanism to monitor the implementation of climate finance and to promote the translation of political commitments into concrete actions by developed countries. The Security Council has a role to play and should also make a strong voice in these areas. At the same time, the Security Council should reflect its role through action. As a first step, it can consider authorizing missions in countries affected by climate change to collect information on the annual receipt of climate financing by developed countries and to brief the Security Council on a regular basis. Of course, the missions themselves should also set a benchmark and become a role model in energy conservation and emission reduction, and contribute to climate action in the host countries.

Third, the green protectionism of developed countries is worthy of caution. Under the pretext of promoting their own energy transition, some countries have invested hundreds of billions of dollars in high subsidies for their manufacturing industries through various unfair bills and administrative initiatives, while imposing trade barriers against the green industries of other countries and cutting off developing countries’ access to green technologies. These actions blatantly violate WTO rules, disrupt global green industry and supply chains, undermine countries’ efforts to achieve sustainable development goals, and run counter to the international community’s collective efforts to address climate change. They also make the pretty slogans of the countries concerned look pale and hypocritical. The Council has a role to play and should firmly oppose such acts and practices. Green protectionism has become a chain that binds developing countries to the low end of the global value chain, and another chain that clamps down on the development and stability of developing countries is illegal unilateral sanctions. Many sanctioned countries have difficulty in obtaining even the most basic means of living and production, let alone improving their ability to cope with climate change. The Security Council should listen to the voices of the people in the affected countries, pay great attention to the climate and security risks caused by green protectionism and illegal unilateral sanctions, and dare to take targeted measures to uphold fairness and justice.

Madam President.

The ecological environment is the foundation of human survival and development. China upholds the green development concept of “green water and green mountains are golden mountains” and insists on the Chinese modernization path of harmonious coexistence between human beings and nature. Over the past decade, China has taken a responsible attitude and implemented its commitments with actions, reducing CO2 emissions per unit of GDP by 34.4 percent, building the world’s largest carbon market, and vigorously carrying out reforestation and sand control, making great achievements in ecological construction and environmental protection that have attracted world attention. China has actively participated in South-South cooperation on climate change and provided support and assistance to other developing countries, especially small island states, LDCs and African countries, in addressing climate change, which is highly appreciated by the majority of developing countries. China is willing to continue to work together with all parties to promote the construction of a fair and reasonable global climate governance system with win-win cooperation, so as to jointly build a clean and beautiful home on earth.

Thank you, Madam President.