OSCE report on climate and security: UK statement

Thank you, Secretary-General.
I would like to share a few brief reactions in response to your report
We share your view, which is widely held, that climate change is one of the defining challenges of our time. The security implications of climate change reach across the OSCE’s ‘comprehensive’ concept of security and I share your enthusiasm about the new Decision and the useful work we can do.
We thank you for your consideration of the way forward, and agree with your 5 proposals.
Particularly, we support the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA)’s planned work to launch a regional consultation process to identify and implement joint climate adaptation initiatives. Adaptation is a key approach in responding to the climate crisis.
Also, climatic systems are large and complex, and expert gathering and analysis of data is essential for an effective response. The OSCE could play a crucial role in bringing these actors together and identifying these climatic risks early.
We also welcome an inclusive approach which takes into account the differentiated effect of climate change on different groups, and the role they can play.
As the decision itself said, the OSCE can complement efforts, in partnership with other bodies. I welcome the suggestion of further consultation with others working in this field so that we may learn from each other and more effectively respond to the common threat.
Our momentum is timely. Across the world but also in our own region, we are seeing how climate change is having an increasingly direct impact on security, through issues like migration and water scarcity.
I thank you again, Secretary-General, for the report and I look forward to the deliberations it has started, including at the high-level meeting on March 25th.
Thank you.