Boris Johnson calls UN Security Council meet for climate change's impact on world peace

The UN Security Council will be organising a world leaders' summit to discuss climate change's implications for world peace.

This session has been called by UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and will be conducted online due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Britain now holds the Security Council's rotating presidency and Johnson will be addressing the forum, along with the US climate czar John Kerry, French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and the prime ministers of Ireland, Vietnam, Norway and other countries.

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This session will also be a test for the US-China relations which have been observing a down low for the past one year after the former US President Donald Trump spearheaded with China over the origin of the deadly coronavirus pandemic.

"We should watch how the Chinese position themselves with the Americans," a UN ambassador was quoted anonymously by news agency AFP.

The impact of climate change on world peace is an issue on which the majority of the 15 members have divergent opinions.

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"You know that the Russians and the Chinese will immediately say (climate change has) 'nothing to do' with the council's issues," the UN ambassador said.  

However, he added that "the Chinese are more liable to be slightly open to that discussion". 

This left the Russians on their own, especially since Moscow believes climate change is not a huge issue that needs to be discussed in the UN Security Council. Russia prefers dealing with climate change-related questions on a case-by-case basis.

The meeting, to be held on Tuesday, "will be focused on the security aspects of climate change," another ambassador was quoted by AFP on condition of anonymity.