Decision Spaces | Vol. 8 No. 1 | Fletcher Security Reviewhttps://www.fletchersecurity.org/2021-decision-spaces?s=09For the past several years, the UN Security Council has
hosted open debates on climate-security matters. Further,
in 2017, it took the historical step of linking climate
change with the deteriorating security situation in the
African Sahel. In UN Security Council Resolution 2349,
the “adverse effects of climate change and ecological
change” in destabilizing the security situation in the
Lake Chad Basin is specifically highlighted.213 Since
this resolution was issued, the council followed up with
additional resolutions in Somalia, Darfur, West Africa and
the Sahel, and Mali.214
To be sure, the Security Council has yet to make the formal determination that climate change (or one of its many impacts) are a “threat to the peace” within the meaning of Article 39 of the UN Charter.215 However, there is a growing precedent for the council to use its authorities to address non-traditional security threats, and, in the coming years, the body will be under increasing pressure to address climate-driven security matters in some fashion.216 An Article 39 declaration serves as the legal key, which opens the door for the council to use its awesome Chapter VII authorities.