February 13, 2024
Sanja Štiglic, Deputy Minister for Foreign and European Affairs and State Secretary for Political and Multilateral Affairs and Development Cooperation of Slovenia, said climate change-induced weather extremes, such as droughts and floods, lead to natural resource shortages and food insecurity. Already fragile communities are usually hit the hardest, she said, pointing to climate change that has exposed millions of people in the Horn of Africa to acute food insecurity.
Conflict risks escalate amid food and water scarcity. The growing gap between water supply and demand might lead to even more conflicts over water resources, arable land and food. On the other hand, armed conflicts also often lead to the devastation of food systems, she said, highlighting how the war in Gaza has devastated its water infrastructure and natural environment, considerably adding to the extreme suffering of a civilian population that is already facing severe food shortages. In Ukraine, the war has impacted global food supply chains, she noted.
“Long after the guns go silent,” she said, armed conflicts continue to affect the environment through soil degradation, water pollution, habitat destruction and the dangers posed by landmines and unexploded ordnances.
Calling on the United Nations to ensure the meaningful participation of women in addressing climate change and food insecurity, she said “eating last and eating least is a daily reality of mothers in the most fragile communities”.
The transboundary nature of climate change and food insecurity demands the response of the international community as a whole, she said, calling on the Organization to tap into the potential of new technologies and early warning systems to do this. Highlighting the way satellite imagery and artificial intelligence have revolutionized the prediction of climate threats, she said it is vital to identify potential conflict triggers before they escalate.