A group of European parliamentarians has published an open letter highlighting how the Israel-Hamas conflict compounds the environmental and humanitarian challenges in both Israel and Gaza.
Several dozen parliamentarians signed the letter, which was disseminated via the Action for Humanity NGO on December 12, the final day of the United Nations climate change conference, COP28.
“We celebrate the fact that for the first time in the history of the conference, peace, relief, and recovery was highlighted as a featured theme, recognizing that implementation of the Paris Agreement urgently requires a conflict-sensitive and peace-responsive approach,” the parliamentarians wrote. They said they came together to address the “urgent need for global attention on the intertwined challenges of promoting peace, addressing climate change, and providing humanitarian relief, in regions marred by conflict.”
They highlighted the war in Gaza as an example of the interconnectedness of environmental and humanitarian challenges, given that Israel and Gaza are located in a region with rising temperatures, diminishing precipitation, rising sea levels, and a recent surge in extreme weather events.
“Even before the latest intensification of hostilities, which includes violence from both parties to the conflict, inequalities in the access to, and control of, water and other resources in Palestine, and the everyday challenges that prevent Gazans from managing natural resources sustainably, has intensified the threats of climate change,” they wrote However, with the onset of the war, the situation has intensified.
There have been reports of “polluted tap water and disrupted desalination plants, further jeopardizing lives and livelihoods,” the MPs said. “The shortage of drinking water, contaminated aquifers, and the dire humanitarian situation are symptomatic of the vicious cycle of environmental degradation, profound inequalities, drivers of conflict, and humanitarian crises.”
Climate response incomplete without addressing environmental injustices
They said: “In recognizing the interconnectedness of conflict, the environment, and climate change, we emphasize that mitigating and adapting to climate change falls short if it does not concurrently address environmental injustices.”
The MPs called on global leaders to recognize the challenges in Gaza and other conflict-afflict, climate-vulnerable communities. They emphasized the need for a ceasefire and the return of all hostages to Israel.
Israel and Gaza should work towards “a just distribution of shared resources, for the benefit of Israeli and Palestinian children and their children, for generations to come.
“Such actions are not only fundamental for the restoration and preservation of peace but also imperative in confronting the escalating climate-related challenges that threaten the well-being of communities.,” the parliamentarians concluded.
Among the signatories: United Kingdom MPs Diane Abbott, Debbie Abrahams, Órfhlaith Begley, Mick Whitley, Nadia Whittome, Mohammad Yasin, and Ian Blackford; Scottish MPs Steven Bonnar, Dr. Philippa Whitford; and Welsh MP Hywel Williams, among others.
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