Britain names first special representative for climate security
Prime Minister Andy Burnham has appointed Madeleine Alessandri, chair of the joint intelligence committee, as the world's first special representative for climate security, an adviser to Downing Street on climate-related national security risks.
Britain has appointed the world's first special representative for climate security, a post that will advise Downing Street on the national security risks posed by climate change. The role has gone to Madeleine Alessandri, chair of the joint intelligence committee, and the appointment was announced by Prime Minister Andy Burnham at the Cop31 climate summit in Belém, Brazil.
The purpose of the post is to identify and act on climate security risks before they develop into full-scale crises. Rather than treating the consequences of a warming planet solely as environmental or economic questions, the government is framing them as matters for the state's security machinery, which is the reason the chair of the joint intelligence committee has been given the job.
In his address to the gathering of delegates, Burnham pledged a «new era» of British climate leadership. He said Britain remained determined to reach net zero by 2050, a target the country set in law and which the new appointment is intended to support by linking climate policy to security planning at the highest level of government.
The creation of the role has been read as a signal of how seriously the government regards the threat. The appointment is the clearest sign yet of official concern about what is often described as climate breakdown, and it places climate considerations inside the intelligence and security architecture that advises the prime minister directly.
Source: theguardian.com
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