The Editorial Analysis- Wrong Forum

Table of Contents

Wrong Forum- Relevance for UPSC Exam

GS Paper 2: International Relations- Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate.
GS Paper 3: Environment- Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation.

Recently, India voted against the UN Security Council (UNSC) on a draft resolution on climate change.
The draft resolution on climate change had the support of a majority of the UNSC members but was voted down by India and Russia (it has veto powers) while China abstained.

Background: Germany had circulated a similar draft last year which was never put to vote in the Security Council as the Trump administration opposed it.
About: draft resolution on climate change was piloted by Ireland and Niger. Through this, the developed world is pushing to include “climate security” in the agenda of the UNSC.
Arguments in Favour: Climate Change is creating security risks in the world, which will exacerbate in the future with water shortage, migration and the destruction of livelihoods.
- Supporters believe that due to this reason Climate Security should be included in the UNSC Mandate.
Grounds of Opposition:
- It is a reflection of India’s long-held opposition to expanding the UNSC’s mandate into areas that are already being dealt with by other multinational fora.
- UNSC’s primary responsibility is “maintenance of international peace and security” and climate change-related issues are outside its ambit.

UNFCCC Role: Currently, all matters related to climate change are being discussed in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a specialized agency of the UN.
- UNFCCC has over 190 members.
- UNFCCC has put in place an international approach to combat global climate change.
Performance of UNFCCC: its framework has made progress in tackling climate change. It is this process that led to the-
- Kyoto Protocol,
- Paris Agreement and
- Recent COP26 summit (Glasgow Summit)
Key Concern: Decision-making at UNFCCC conferences is slow and there has to be faster collective action to tackle climate change and associated challenges.

Creating Imbalance: It will also give more powers to the world’s industrialized countries, which hold veto powers, to decide on future action on climate-related security issues.
Economic Disparity: it is wrong to look at climate change through the prism of security. Each nation faces different challenges in transitioning into a greener economy.
Elite Representation: UNSC has only five permanent members who hold veto powers. An important issue like climate security can’t be left to only their decision-making discretion.

Fulfilling the Prior Commitments: Developed Countries, all big polluters, have not met the promises they made with regard to climate action.
- They must fulfill them at the earliest for ensuring climate justice and security.
Assistance to Least Developed and Developing Countries: Developed countries must provide financial and technical assistance to the least developed and developing countries.
- This will encourage them to keep their climate promises.
Reforming UNFCCC: UNFCCC should make sure that the promises made by member countries, especially the powerful ones, in previous conferences are kept.
- UNFCCC forum should also expand the scope of discussions to include climate-related security issues.

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