Ed Miliband says national security of all countries at risk from climate crisis
The UK's foreign secretary Ed Miliband will tell world leaders at Cop31 that national security of all countries is at risk from the climate crisis, as 'science fiction' scenarios of destruction are already occurring.
Miliband arrived in Turkey on Tuesday evening for the two-day leaders' summit segment of the fortnight-long Cop31 talks, which started on Monday. He will tell world leaders that security and defence objectives are the new 'frontier' of climate action, as the rapid heating of the planet leads to food shortages, economic disruption, migration and conflict.
The UK prime minister, Andy Burnham, is expected to travel on Wednesday for bilateral meetings with fellow world leaders on Thursday. Several heads of leading countries are skipping this year's Cop, including China's Xi Jinping, India's Narendra Modi, France's Emmanuel Macron and Germany's Friedrich Merz.
Climate breakdown as security threat
Miliband will argue that the world must now face the consequences of failures to cut carbon emissions over the past three decades. 'It is a disaster for people and the planet, and we must reckon with its implications,' he will tell audiences. 'It will drive hardship and insecurity for billions of people.'
National security is the next frontier of the fight for climate action – the scenarios once of science fiction are now regular occurrences in the daily news.
Fossil fuel shocks becoming norm
Miliband will note that an 'overshoot' of the crucial threshold of 1.5C of global heating is now inevitable, as temperatures have exceeded that level for two years and are unlikely to subside significantly. This requires stronger policies to ensure heating does not accelerate.
Fossil fuel shocks, such as the soaring oil price following the Iran war which has led to rampant inflation and interest rate rises, will continue to cause harm. 'A new era of global insecurity means fossil fuel shocks are now the norm – the fossil fuel rollercoaster is here to stay,' Miliband said.
Call for urgent climate action
Miliband will call for more investment in clean energy and efforts to use it for transport and heating, as well as urgent action to cut methane and protect forests. 'Next year will be the year of climate fightback, as governments, movements and communities across the world step up to defend our shared home,' he stated.
In a veiled swipe at political opponents, Miliband added: 'Those who seek to stick their heads in the sand on climate are putting our national security at risk.' However, Burnham's government is under fire in the UK for policies that campaigners say will push the country off-track to meet its net zero target by 2050.
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