The traditional threats to global security – armed conflict, territorial disputes – still loom large. But in the corridors of NATO’s Allied Command Transformation, a new kind of security challenge is gaining traction: the environment. The recently released video below sheds light on this critical issue, exploring the interconnected threats of climate breakdown, biodiversity loss, and their far-reaching impact on international security.
Climate change isn’t just about rising sea levels and scorching summers. Unchecked climate breakdown acts as a “threat multiplier,” exacerbating existing tensions and fostering instability. Imagine extreme weather events disrupting essential services, displacing populations, and creating humanitarian crises. Military operations themselves become more complex, facing logistical nightmares and unforeseen challenges in a rapidly changing environment.
But climate change isn’t the only environmental concern. The loss of biodiversity, the delicate web of life that sustains our planet, is another crucial piece of the puzzle. Healthy ecosystems provide vital services like food security, clean water, and protection from natural disasters. As these systems degrade, the consequences ripple outwards, leading to resource scarcity, mass displacement, and potentially, conflict.
“It’s obvious that we face a very complex and deteriorating security horizon. I think the problem that we have is to balance the short-term and the immediate issues with the long-term issues. Especially, from my perspective, it’s the ecological crisis which is the big problem. All our societies are based on natural foundations. You can’t imagine a human society that is not based on nature, and the natural foundations are getting weaker. That will have long term social, political, economic and security impact.”
Dan Smith, Director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
NATO’s Climate Change and Security Agenda provides encompassing measures to increase awareness of the impact of climate change on security, while also adapting to these changes, mitigating the impact, and collaborating with allies to find shared solutions.
Allied Command Transformation’s Strategic Foresight Analysis 2023 assesses climate breakdown and loss of biodiversity as one of seven drivers of change shaping the evolving security environment. It will prompt significant changes in attitudes and behaviours of both state and non-state actors.
The environmental challenges we face are daunting, and NATO has to adapt to these new realities, in its strategies, concepts and force designs alike. By fostering dialogue, promoting a comprehensive approach, and equipping member states with the tools they need, NATO’s ACT is taking a critical step forward. This video serves as a powerful call to action, urging us to consider the environment not just as an ecological concern, but as a cornerstone of global security in the 21st century. A secure future demands a green lens, and NATO is leading the way in ensuring we see the world through it.