On Tuesday, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, issued a warning about the increasing global sea levels and the threat they pose to international peace and security.
The Security Council held its first-ever meeting to address this issue, and Guterres argued that even if global warming is miraculously limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, sea levels will rise significantly, putting nearly 900 million people living in coastal areas at risk and countries like Bangladesh, China, India, and the Netherlands at risk.
The Secretary-General also mentioned mega-cities all over the world will face significant consequences, such as Cairo, Lagos, Maputo, Bangkok, Dhaka, Jakarta, Mumbai, Shanghai, Copenhagen, London, Los Angeles, New York, Buenos Aires, and Santiago.
Guterres emphasized that every fraction of a degree in global warming counts, as a 2-degree Celsius rise in temperature could cause the sea level to rise by 2 meters and even more if the temperature rises further.
Data from the World Meteorological Organization showed that average sea levels have increased more rapidly since 1900 than in any preceding century in the past 3,000 years and that the global ocean has warmed faster in the last century than at any other time in the past 11,000 years.
Over the next 2,000 years, sea levels are expected to rise by 2 to 3 meters if global warming is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius. With a 2-degree Celsius increase, seas could rise by 6 meters; with a 5-degree Celsius increase, seas could rise by 22 meters.
Guterres warned that the Earth is on a path towards a “death sentence” for vulnerable countries, including many small island nations if global warming continues to increase.
The consequences of rising seas include the disappearance of low-lying communities and countries, mass migration on a biblical scale, and intense competition for freshwater, land, and resources.
The Secretary-General has been advocating for action on climate change and has previously warned that the world is in a “life-or-death struggle” and heading toward “irreversible climate chaos.”
By the end of the century, the Paris Agreement calls for a temperature rise of no more than 2 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial times.
Guterres believes that the Security Council has a critical role in building the political will needed to address the root cause of rising seas, which is the climate crisis.
At the Security Council meeting, representatives from 75 countries, both large and small, endangered and landlocked, expressed concern about the impact of rising seas on the future of the world and, for some, the survival of their own countries.
The U.N. ambassador from Samoa, Fatumanava-o-Upolu III Pa’olelei Luteru, spoke on behalf of the Alliance of Small Island States and stated that small island states are among the lowest emitters of greenhouse gases but face some of the most severe consequences of rising sea levels.
He said every country must cooperate to address rising seas and fulfill its climate change and financial commitments.
Likewise, U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield stressed that sea level rise is a matter of international peace and security and that the council must act to prevent the worst impacts.
According to General Assembly President Csaba Krösi, sea levels will rise 1 to 1.6 meters by 2100 at current rates, and climate change is also raising new legal questions about national and state interests.
The rising sea levels pose a significant threat to international peace and security and require immediate action from the global community.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, has highlighted the urgency of the situation and the crucial role of the Security Council in addressing the root cause of rising seas, namely climate change.
Over 75 large and small countries expressed their concerns about rising sea levels and their own survival.
Cooperation and action are necessary to address this pressing issue and prevent the worst impacts of rising sea levels.
For all of us to live in a safer and more sustainable future, the world must come together to fulfill its international climate change and finance commitments.
