In a ministerial debate at the United Nations’ highest decision-making body on the impact of sea-level rise on international peace and security, Guterres warned that unless the world acts quickly, the consequences will be unimaginable.
He mentioned mass exodus, conflicts over access to fresh water, land and other resources, and a number of legal issues that had never been addressed.
He stressed that even if the world were to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius (ºC) by the end of the century, sea levels would rise significantly; Meanwhile, the height of the water would double if it rose 2C, he added.
In any case, many countries and metropolises are at risk.
The danger is particularly great for the nearly 900 million people who live in coastal areas at low altitudes, that is one in ten people on earth, he stressed.
Among the impacts these populations are already suffering, he mentioned the example of the Caribbean, where sea level rise is contributing to the destruction of local livelihoods in the tourism and agricultural sectors.
“Low communities and entire countries could disappear forever. We would see a mass exodus of entire populations of biblical proportions. And we would see increasingly fierce competition for freshwater, land and other resources,” he predicted.
He added that the effects of rising sea levels are already generating new factors of instability and conflict.
To deal with this situation, Guterres called for action in three areas: addressing the root cause of rising seas: the climate crisis, and implementing policies that end poverty, discrimination, inequality and human rights abuses that cause insecurity.
Also to address the consequences of sea level rise in a legal and human rights framework, as this will lead to possible disputes related to territorial integrity and marine spaces, in addition to the fact that there will be large population movements that must be taken into account The refugee rights perspective.
For his part, the President of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Kőrösi, stressed that climate crises open new windows for cooperation and inclusion and called for strengthening alliances to achieve the transformation towards a safer world.
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