Environmental degradation should not be linked to peace and security, argues India at the UN

India on Thursday warned the United Nations against “securitisation” of environmental problems, asking it not to link such problems to peace and security, PTI reported. India said linking up everything related to environmental degradation to peace and security cannot address climate change concerns, or ensure that real perpetrators of such degradation adhere to their commitments.

India’s representative was addressing a high-level open debate on maintenance of international peace and security at the UN Security Council. The debate was titled “Humanitarian Effects of Environmental Degradation and Peace and Security”. The representative said environmental degradation can have humanitarian impact just like other human activities.

“However, merely to link up everything related to environmental issues with peace and security does nothing to enhance our understanding of the problem; nothing to help us address these issues in a meaningful way and does nothing to call out the real perpetrators and make them adhere to their commitments on environmental issues or help change behaviour of people at subsistence level,” India said.