Climate crisis a job for world leaders, not just activists: UK FM / Photo: © AFP
Climate crisis a job for world leaders, not just activists: UK FM
The world's climate change crisis is a security issue that belongs on the desks of generals and prime ministers, not just green campaigners, Britain's foreign minister said Monday, as world leaders convene for the UN General Assembly's high-level week.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of Climate Week NYC, Ed Miliband argued that the "fossil fuel roller coaster" -- with supply disrupted after Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the United States' war in Iran -- underlined "the energy independence imperative of clean energy."
"Climate breakdown, in my view, must be an issue for foreign ministers and prime ministers, as well as energy and climate ministers -- the security community, not just the activist community -- the generals, not just the green campaigners," he said.
Miliband was named foreign minister under Britain's new Prime Minister Andy Burnham after serving as energy security and net zero minister. He first took on a climate brief in 2008, when the issue was still treated as peripheral.
That is no longer possible, he said, pointing to a northern hemisphere summer of record heat and wildfires, Nepal's devastating floods triggered by glacial collapse, as well as a record-breaking El Nino weather pattern.
Climate and nature must be embedded in a country's national security systems and threat assessments, he said, and "countries need to pool information because a shock beginning in one country can rapidly travel through supply chains, financial markets, and migration patterns."
Miliband spoke after Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese opened the talks with a call to action, giving the example of how his country's heavily fossil fuel dependent economy was now seeing record uptake of renewables -- clean energy accounted for over half the grid at the peak of the last Australian summer.
"There's no avoiding the scale of our responsibility or the cost of inaction," he said.
- Focus on AI -
Climate change has been a signature issue for outgoing UN chief Antonio Guterres, who has convened a summit on Wednesday bringing together world leaders on the road to the COP31 climate talks to be held in Turkey in November, with Australia steering negotiations.
Turkey said Monday it would be pursuing "climate-responsible AI" and pushing tech companies to power data centers with clean energy.
COP31 President and Turkish Climate Minister Murat Kurum announced that the summit would also address "growing fears over the rise of AI" and its carbon footprint.
"We must openly discuss AI's growing energy consumption and it is time for governments to start setting the terms," he said in a statement.
"We expect companies to be transparent about their energy use and to power their operations with clean energy."
Amid the grim outlook, there are glimmers of hope. The world added a record 693 gigawatts of renewable power in 2025 -- over half the installed capacity of the United States -- according to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).
UN climate chief Simon Stiell hailed it as a sign that the "brute power of market forces" is making the clean energy transition irreversible.
Even so, meeting the global goal of tripling renewable energy by the year 2030 -- a key target agreed by countries at the COP28 talks held in 2023 -- would still require more than doubling today's levels.
Y.Nelson--VC
