The UN Security Council will discuss climate change for the first time on April 17, thanks to a British effort to bring it to the attention of a body focused on war and peace. "The impacts of climate change are likely to worsen traditional conflict triggers," said Britain's UN ambassador Emyr Jones Parry at a news conference outlining Security Council activities for April. The topic is considered crucial for global security, with Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett set to lead the debate. While Security Council debates typically involve ambassadors, countries have the option to send foreign ministers or heads of state for more important issues. Britain has invited other countries to also send their foreign ministers to participate in the discussion. In March, Britain announced its plan to raise the issue of climate change in the Security Council, but this decision had to be approved by all 15 members of the council, including the five permanent members with veto power. China and Russia, two of the permanent members, showed some opposition to having the debate, according to diplomatic sources. The United States, which has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol, did not oppose the idea. Led by Prime Minister Tony Blair and former Secretary of State for Environment Beckett, Britain has been actively advocating for urgent action against global warming in various international forums. Recently, the European Union agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 percent by 2020. In anticipation of some UN member states arguing that climate change should be handled by the General Assembly or other environmental agencies, Britain circulated a concept paper stating that climate change could potentially lead to conflicts, border changes, energy supply disruptions, and mass migrations. The paper identifies six potential areas where global security could be impacted by climate change: disputes over borders, mass migration, energy supply issues, scarcity of resources, societal tensions, and humanitarian crises. Changes in landmass due to melting ice and rising sea levels could potentially lead to shifts in political or maritime boundaries, and there is a possibility of significant displacement of up to 200 million people by the middle of the century.