The UN Security Council will discuss climate change on April 17, marking the first time the issue has been included on the agenda of a body focused on war and peace. British Ambassador Emyr Jones Parry emphasized the potential for climate change to worsen traditional conflict triggers during a news conference outlining Security Council activities for April, when Britain holds the rotating presidency. Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett will oversee the debate, underscoring Britain's view of climate change as a critical global security issue. Other countries have been encouraged to send their foreign ministers to participate in the debate, in addition to their ambassadors. Britain announced in March its plans to address climate change in the Security Council, a decision that needed approval from all 15 council members, including the five permanent members with veto power. China and Russia, two permanent members, showed some resistance to the idea, according to diplomatic sources. The United States, which has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, did not oppose the discussion. With support from Prime Minister Tony Blair and Beckett, a former environment secretary, Britain has been leading efforts to combat global warming in various international forums, such as the European Union, which recently agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 20 percent by 2020. Britain anticipated that some UN members may argue that climate change should be handled by the General Assembly or environmental agencies, and circulated a concept paper highlighting the potential consequences of climate change, including conflict, border changes, energy disruptions, and mass migrations. The text outlines six potential areas where global security could be impacted by climate change: border disputes, migration, energy supplies, resource shortages, societal stress, and humanitarian crises. The melting ice and rising sea levels could change the world's physical landmass, potentially leading to shifts in political or maritime borders. There could also be mass migration as a result, with some projections suggesting that up to 200 million people could be displaced by mid-century.