E3G

Climate Security and the Ministry of Defence

By Chris Littlecott

Rapid response

The UK military will continue to play a role in disaster relief and humanitarian assistance in the aftermath of natural disasters, yet is the harder-edged challenges of climate insecurity that are more worrying.

Arnold-Foster poses more tough questions, some of which might demand a military response if serious climate change mitigation actions are not taken soon:

As more and more people in Bangladesh seek sanctuary from rising sea levels, will the tensions created lead to a collapse of the state and war with India? Will poverty caused by growing water shortages in North Africa boost support for international terrorism? Will floods and environmental degradation in China lead to economic collapse and a rise in nationalism?

The physical impacts of these challenges are still yet to occur, so the immediate task is to strengthen the capacity of states and societies to adapt and respond ahead of time. That doesn’t just mean building storm shelters, but rather tackling the many interconnected challenges faced by countries seeking to respond to the realities of an interdependent world.

Arnold-Foster’s closing point is that despite the continued best efforts of diplomacy and humanitatian assistance One way or another, Britain’s armed forces will become involved - in the best scenario as part of a UN peacekeeping force, but possibly having to take more drastic action to protect our security interests, for

Climate change is already making the world more dangerous and no one knows how much more dangerous it will become.