UK Foreign Secretary calls climate change a security issue for leaders
British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband said the global climate crisis must be treated as a security matter by governments and militaries, not just activists.
At the formal launch of Climate Week in New York, which runs alongside the United Nations General Assembly, British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband warned that the climate emergency is fundamentally a security challenge. He called for generals, prime ministers, energy ministers and foreign affairs officials to take the issue seriously, rather than leaving it to environmental activists. Miliband highlighted how the recent fossil-fuel crisis—exacerbated by Russia’s war in Ukraine and U.S. involvement in Iran—underscores the urgency of transitioning to clean energy for strategic independence.
He pointed to a summer of record heat, widespread wildfires in the northern hemisphere, catastrophic floods in Nepal caused by glacier melt, and an unprecedented El Niño event as clear signs of mounting danger. The minister stressed that climate impacts can rapidly spread through supply chains, financial markets and migration flows, demanding greater information sharing among nations. He concluded by referencing the broader UN focus on climate, including Secretary-General António Guterres’s upcoming summit ahead of COP31 in Turkey.
