20 Jul 2011

UN /PEACE AND SECURITY CLIMATE CHANGE

US Ambassador Susan Rice told the Security Council today that its failure to reach consensus on climate change as a threat to peace and security “is more than disappointing, it’s pathetic, it’s short-sighted and frankly it is a dereliction of duty.” UNTV / FILE

Posted at: July 20, 2011 3:18 pm

Duration: 03:12

Available in: SD

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Full script

STORY: UN /PEACE AND SECURITY CLIMATE CHANGE
TRT: 3.12
SOURCE: UNTV / UNICEF / UNHCR / MINUSTAH
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/ NATS

DATELINE: 20 JULY 2011, NEW YORK CITY / FILE

SHOTLIST:

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

1.Wide shot, exterior United Nations headquarters

20 JULY 2011, NEW YORK CITY

2.Wide shot, Security Council
3.Med shot, delegates
4.SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
"We must make no mistake. The facts are clear: climate change is real; it is accelerating in a dangerous manner; and it not only exacerbates threats to international peace and security, it is a threat to international peace and security. Extreme weather events continue to grow more frequent and intense in rich and poor countries alike, not only devastating lives, but also infrastructure, institutions, and budgets; an unholy brew which can create dangerous security vacuums."	
5.Med shot, delegates 
6.SOUNDBITE (English) Achim Steiner, United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director:
"We are now talking about a one meter sea level rise, possibly occurring this century. Mr. President, if you look at a world map and you realize how many tens of thousands of kilometres of coastline will be affected by this; how in a sense we will redraw the world's map, not only in geographical terms but also in terms of exclusive economic zones and many other implications, you begin to realize that we are truly confronted with a level of scientific knowledge now which is sufficient for us to begin to realize that we are talking about major implications, not only in a territorial sense, but also from a geopolitical perspective."	
7.Med shot, delegates
8.SOUNDBITE (English) Susan Rice, Permanent Representative of the United States to the United Nations:
"We have dozens of countries in this body and in this very room whose very existence is threatened. They have asked this Council to demonstrate our understanding that their security is profoundly threatened. Instead, because of the refusal of a few to accept our responsibility, this Council is saying by its silence, in effect, tough luck. This is more than disappointing, it's pathetic, it's short-sighted, and frankly it is a dereliction of duty." 
9.Zoom in, Security Council
10.Wide shot, Ban walks to the stakeout position
11.SOUNDBITE (English) T. Hamid Al-Bayati, Permanent Representative of Iraq to the United Nations:
"The next stage, which will follow the withdrawal of the American forces at the end of this year, will put immense challenges and responsibilities on the Iraqi Government. From a security perspective, the Iraqi Government is continuing to improve the ability of its security forces in a way that prepares those forces to stand up in the face of terrorist attacks, protect internal security and defend democracy in Iraq."
12.Zoom out, Security Council

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

13.	Close up, camera

20 JULY 2011, NEW YORK CITY

14.	SOUNDBITE (English) Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General:
"If we do not address the fundamentals of climate change, we will have more floods, famines and other disasters. And it is only in that broader framework of sustainable development that we can address climate change, international peace and security and the needs of all of our citizens."

FILE – RECENT, NEW YORK CITY

15.	Close up, reporter's notepad

20 JULY 2011, NEW YORK CITY

16.	Pan right, Ban walks away from the stakeout position

FILE - MINUSTAH - 5 NOVEMBER 2010, LEOGANE, HAITI

17.	Various shots, flooded Leogane

FILE - UNHCR - 26 AUGUST 2010, SUKKUR DISTRICT, SINDH PROVINCE, PAKISTAN

18.	Tracking shot, kids standing in water

FILE - UNICEF - 16 JULY 2011, LODWAR, TURKANA, KENYA

19.	Wide shot, mother and child walking amidst barren landscape
20.	Wide shot, children of Kapua village 
21.	Wide shot, villagers gathering and waiting for food to be distributed
22.	Med shot, an elder being fed with palm fruits

STORYLINE:

The Security Council met today (20 July) to discuss the implications of climate change on peace and security at a time of rapid global change signified by growing populations, increasing demand for natural resources and depletion of fertile soils and freshwater.

Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that after much debate, the Council first took up the issue of climate change in April 2007.

He pointed out that now, four years later, "the facts are clear" and climate change "not only exacerbates threats to international peace and security, it is a threat to international peace and security."

Ban said that extreme weather events "continue to grow more frequent and intense in rich and poor countries alike" creating "an unholy brew which can create dangerous security vacuums."

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director, Achim Steiner, told the Council that new scientific data indicates that there may possibly be a one meter sea level rise occurring this century, which means that "tens of thousands of kilometres of coastline" could be affected.

Steiner said that such a change would "in a sense" redraw the world's map, "not only in geographical terms but also in terms of exclusive economic zones and many other implications."

The Secretary-General´s report of 2009 identified sea-level rise as the ultimate security threat for some small island states, with some possibly set to disappear over the next 30 years.

United States Ambassador Susan Rice expressed outrage at the Council's failure to reach consensus on the issue.

Rice said that "we have dozens of countries in this body and in this very room whose very existence is threatened" and that "because of the refusal of a few to accept our responsibility, this Council is saying by its silence, in effect, tough luck."

She added that this was "more than disappointing, it's pathetic, it's short-sighted, and frankly it is a dereliction of duty."

Outside the Council, the Secretary-General told journalists that "if we do not address the fundamentals of climate change, we will have more floods, famines and other disasters."

Recent climatic events include catastrophic floods in Haiti, Benin and Pakistan.

Today, the UN declared a famine in two regions of southern Somalia owing to the worst drought in decades, and appealed for urgent resources to assist millions of people in desperate need of help.