G8 foreign ministers, building off the leadership of the German Presidency of the UN Security Council in 2011, issued a joint statement on Thursday recognizing the security implications of climate change. We’ll have more on this later. In the meantime, below is the full statement.

G8 Foreign Ministers statement on Climate Change and Security

The G8 member states underscore their interest in promoting global growth, prosperity, peace and stability; recognize climate change as a contributing factor to increased security risks globally; and intend to continue to work domestically and multilaterally to address climate change. In Presidential Statement 2011/15, the President of the UN Security Council stated that “the Security Council expresses its concern that possible adverse effects of climate change may, in the long run, aggravate certain existing threats to international peace and security.” The G8 fully support the decision of the Parties to the UNFCCC to launch a process to develop a new climate change agreement applicable to all Parties. The G8 notes that international climate policy and sustainable economic development should be mutually reinforcing in order to limit negative security implications of climate change.