The UK’s foreign secretary, Ed Miliband, is set to warn world leaders at Cop31 that the climate crisis is a major threat to national security, with scenarios once considered science fiction now becoming regular occurrences.
Ed Miliband will address the Cop31 UN climate summit, warning that the rapid heating of the planet is leading to food shortages, economic disruption, migration, and conflict. He emphasized that security and defence objectives are now central to climate action, as the scenarios once considered science fiction are becoming regular occurrences in the daily news. Miliband stated that climate breakdown poses one of the greatest national security threats, with impacts including threats to infrastructure and population movements. He also criticized those who seek to ignore the climate crisis, noting that such inaction puts national security at risk.
Miliband highlighted that economic shocks from fossil fuels are now the norm, and that failure to cut carbon emissions over the past three decades has led to an inevitable overshoot of the 1.5C global heating threshold. He warned that this requires stronger policies to prevent further acceleration of heating and to return temperatures to safer levels in the future. The UK foreign secretary will argue that the world must now face the consequences of past failures to reduce carbon emissions, which have led to hardship and insecurity for billions of people. He noted that temperatures have exceeded the 1.5C threshold for two years and are unlikely to subside significantly.
Why it matters
The climate crisis is causing food shortages, economic disruption, migration, and conflict that threaten global stability.
This section reflects Dumpling editorial interpretation and is provided for context only.
What to watch
Watch whether the UN secretary general addresses the link between climate change and migration risks.
This section reflects Dumpling editorial interpretation and is provided for context only.