European Council conclusions on EU Climate Diplomacy
Brussels, 18 July 2011
Ahead of the UN Security Council debate on climate change and security on 20 July 2011, the EU Foreign Affairs Council adopted brief conclusions on the subject on 18 July, stating that "Climate change is a global environmental and development challenge. Next to the most immediate effects, it also has important security implications since it acts as a "threat multiplier", exacerbating tensions over land, water, food and energy prices, and creating migratory pressures and desertification. It is a threat to global growth, prosperity and stability."
Stating that "The EU will continue to raise global awareness of the security risks to, and threat multiplier nature, of climate change, particularly in vulnerable regions" the Council recognised "the need to drive the global debate on climate change and international security forwards? and welcomed ?the increasing attention of the United Nations Security Council on the security related aspects of climate change."