Joint statement of the Security Council members signatories of the Joint Pledges related to Climate, Peace and Security on Yemen read by H.E. Christina Markus Lassen, Permanent Representative of Denmark to the United Nations

We, the Security Council members that have joined the Joint Pledges on Climate, Peace and Security—France, Greece, Guyana, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, the United Kingdom, and my own country, Denmark—have come together to highlight the multiple pathways through which the effects of climate change interact with fragility, instability and conflict in Yemen ahead of today’s Security Council briefing.

Yemen has endured a decade of conflict, leading to a devastating humanitarian situation, including food, energy and water insecurity, all compounded by the effects of climate change.  An estimated 18 million Yemenis are food insecure and lack access to safe drinking water and sanitation, ranking among the lowest globally in water availability. As one of the countries most vulnerable to climate change, Yemen faces severe climate shocks.  In 2024, heavy rains and severe flooding caused widespread devastation, affecting 1.3 million people.  Prolonged droughts and extreme weather events have led to heightened desertification and significant damage to arable land.  As climate change impacts grow more severe, the ongoing conflict further limits access to basic resources, their sustainable use and governance, and with wider implications including for the maritime environment. Escalating resource competition leads to intercommunal and intertribal tensions, and could adversely impact social cohesion, threatening Yemen’s short- and long- term peace and stability.  This further shows the complex interplay between climate change, conflict, food and water insecurity which directly or indirectly impact each other. Addressing climate change and environmental degradation challenges is a stepping stone to peace efforts, offering platforms for collaboration, reconciliation and peacebuilding. 

Today, we emphasize three key messages:

First, we must focus our efforts on strengthening local systems and mechanisms for preventing, resolving and managing local grievances and conflicts related to land, water and natural resources. We underscore the importance that Yemeni authorities, the international community and the UN system scale up community-led, resilient and climate-smart, food and water security initiatives. We call for the integration of climate considerations into peacebuilding efforts, recognizing that sustainable resource management is crucial for conflict mitigation and lasting peace in Yemen. 

Second, we underscore the importance of strengthening partnerships between civil society, stakeholders and policymakers.  This involves increased efforts towards ensuring that community-driven solutions including women, youth and local Yemeni voices, are included in national and global climate, peace and security discussions. People in vulnerable situations, including women and girls, migrants, internally displaced persons, older persons, persons with disabilities and minorities, may face a disproportionate severity of the interlinked impacts of conflict and climate change. Women-led civil society organizations continue to serve as vital lifelines in remote and frontline communities, providing essential basic services and advocating for just and lasting peace. 

Third, we reiterate the need for the international community to support the Yemeni authorities, to implement more effective adaptation and mitigation measures in responding to extreme weather events.  This includes robust early warning mechanisms, disaster risk reduction and management. An urgent political settlement to the conflict in Yemen under the auspices of the United Nations, is essential to enhance local authorities’ capacity to implement such measures. The wellbeing and protection of the Yemeni people needs to be prioritized through an inclusive political process. Any future peace settlement must integrate the interconnected and compounding effects of climate change and conflict, through prevention, recovery and reconstruction efforts. 

We will continue to advocate for a more systematic and strategic approach to integrate the climate, peace and security nexus in our discussions on Yemen on the Security Council and beyond.