Statement by Chargé D’affaires, Ambassador João Genésio De Almeida Filho, at the UNSC Open Debate On “Climate Change, Peace And Security” - June 13th, 2023

Madam President,

I would like to begin by thanking the distinguished briefers for their comments and remarks on this important subject.

As a responsible actor historically engaged in multilateralism and in thesustainable development agenda, Brazil will always act in a constructive and consistent way, promoting concerted solutions to the major challenges faced by the international community. Climate change is unequivocally one of the
greatest challenges to humankind. Without an effective and consistent response, we will not be able to address its root causes and adverse impacts on
our societies.

As a token of our firm, renewed and reinvigorated commitment to tackle climate change, last November, during COP27, then President-elect Lula presented Brazil's pledge to host COP30 of the UNFCCC in 2025, in the Brazilian Amazon region. We are grateful for the recent endorsement and support of all GRULAC countries in this regard. We are honored for the trust placed in Brazil and we will dedicate ourselves with the highest sense of priority to
promoting a COP30 that will contribute to a decisive advancement of the climate change regime.

We also look forward to COP28 in Dubai, later this year. We expect to have a meaningful discussion on climate change under the existing, formal tracks of
the multilateral climate change regime. The Global Stocktake to take place during COP28 will be a pivotal moment in our common efforts to combat climate change. It will point out advances and identify key implementation gaps in the regime, particularly regarding climate finance. We are convinced that the Global Stocktake will be fundamental for the future of the climate change regime and a successful COP30, to take place two years from now.

Madam Chair,

The UNFCCC and its Paris Agreement are the most appropriate forums to discuss the global response to climate change. We consider that a thematic and crosscutting discussion of this topic within the context of the Security Council is neither productive nor effective. It brings up a very serious and potentially unsolvable problem regarding the "encroachment" of the Security Council into themes typically addressed by the UNFCCC and the United Nations development pillar.

The Security Council, when performing its functions, may and should contribute by supporting efforts of host countries on the ground, at their request, to increase local resilience and build capacities. This does not mean that the Council has or should have a mandate to thematically and systematically address climate change.

Let us not forget that, according to the IPCC, which is our multilateral body responsible for climate change science, the influence of climate on conflicts is
assessed as, and I quote, "relatively weak" when compared to other socioeconomic factors.

The IPCC also stresses that vulnerability to climate change is higher in locations with poverty, governance challenges and limited access to basic
services and resources, and that, I quote again, "development challenges causing high vulnerability are influenced by historical and ongoing patterns of inequity such as colonialism".

Madam Chair,

Not only does the Security Council lack the necessary legitimacy to address climate change in a consistent, comprehensive and meaningful way; it also
lacks the adequate tools. The UNFCCC and the development pillar of the UN already have the proper tools and mechanisms to address the underlying development challenges and to reduce vulnerability to climate change in fragile contexts.

We must also recall the commitment to address the root causes of climate change, including in particular the transitions towards low emission energy systems. To effectively fight climate change, we all need, in the first place, to reduce fossil fuel burning. Throughout our history, carbon emission has happened mostly in developed countries, not in conflict zones.

The Council does not have the appropriate tools, for instance, to tackle the key issue of the provision of climate finance and means of implementation to our collective mitigation and adaptation efforts.

The amount necessary to match the needs and priorities of developing countries to combat climate change, according to the First Needs Assessment Report of the UNFCCC, ranges from 5.8 to 11.5 trillion dollars by 2030. If climate change is really a priority for these countries, we need to see concrete and meaningful progress in this regard in the proper fora. The provision and mobilization of new, predictable, additional and adequate resources is the
urgent need of the hour for developing countries.

Madam Chair,

The multilateral climate change regime, grounded on the UNFCCC, its Kyoto Protocol and its Paris Agreement, is - for good reasons - already based on a
number of principles that ensure balance, transparency and inclusivity, with decisions based on the consensus of all countries as Parties to the convention.

Nothing could be further from the reality of the Security Council, which is a body that operates and is structured in a fundamentally different way. The suggestion for the Security Council to improve its "transparency and inclusivity by actively engaging non-Council members and a wide array of stakeholders in discussions on climate, peace and security", while well intentioned, is not going to fix it. The Security Council urgently needs a profound reform precisely because it is unbalanced, opaque and non-inclusive.

Cosmetic, superficial changes of an "ad hoc" nature will not turn the Security Council into an inclusive body.

Moreover, the views of developing countries, the most affected by the adverse impacts of global warming, are not adequately represented. The IPCC
indicates, for instance, that countries of Latin America and the Caribbean will potentially be one of the most impacted by the changing climate. However, our region is largely underrepresented in this Council.

Madam Chair,

In conclusion, adding climate change only overburdens the mandates of missions authorized by the Council, in a scenario where many are already under
serious pressure due to the overstretching of their multidimensional roles. The treatment of this issue in appropriate fora and, above all, the delivery of
financial commitment under the Paris Agreement could certainly have a more tangible impact on the ground.

And I thank you.