Climate Change and the UN Security Council: Bully Pulpit or Bull in a China Shop?

Feb 2, 2018 | Janani Vivekananda and Winter Wilson
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Last month, the UN Security Council hosted another meeting on climate change. Despite this positive step, in order to really tackle climate-related security risks, the Council needs to be reshaped into a more capable body, as a recent journal article by Conca et al. points out. In our review, we examine the authors’ attempt to steer the discussion away from the bipartisan impasse and towards the UN Security Council’s potential for becoming a key player on climate issues. In a recent article published in Global Environmental Change, “Climate Change and the UN Security Council: Bully Pulpit or Bull in a China Shop?” authors Ken Conca, Joe Thwaites and Goueun Lee explore the potential for climate change to be addressed in an international security context within the UN Security Council. The securitization of climate change has in recent years become a hot topic for discussion among academics, activists, and policymakers; however, as the article points out, the relationship between climate change and conflict is still uncertain and widely debated. The article critiques various sides of the debate and suggests ways in which the Council can be transformed to better suit the needs of all stakeholders. Overall, it provides a thorough synopsis of the scenario, a balanced analysis of all arguments and brief but foundational recommendations for future action by the Council.