The research focuses both on risks and risk management. It also begins to map and monitor environmental and climate security risks. Meanwhile the military should prepare for the consequences of climate change on security. More awareness, better forecasting tools as well as new organisational structures may be needed. Climate change is set to challenge all systems on which global security, peace, and stability depend. The Joint Chiefs of Staff and the uniformed heads of each armed services branch are well suited to argue for the reality of climate change impacts and for the long-term preparations needed to meet future climate-related threats while avoiding politicizing the topic. Economic instability, infrastructure risks, decreased water supplies and social unrest are named as a few of the potential outcomes of the climate change trajectory we are on today. Humidity and heat could make large parts of the tropic zones uninhabitable for at least part of the year. That means that the slashing or burning of an isolated forest becomes visible practically as it happens, just as reforestation can be tracked and promoted as good practice. The Security Council debate on 17 April was a landmark event, as it marked the recognition of climate change as a core security issue. On the other hand, the rapid increase of big data and artificial intelligence (AI) could increase our capacity to forecast future security threats. Speaking at the launch of a Special Report on Climate Change and Land by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in Geneva, … The need to prepare for a different world. The IAEA helps countries to use nuclear science and technologies to monitor and measure the impact of climate change and adapt to its effects. Governments and businesses are in a particularly impactful position to drive positive change. On the eve of the UN Climate Change Conference COP 25 in Madrid (2 – 13 December 2019), a UN report made clear that urgent action is needed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which are contributing to global warming. Technically and economically, the world should be able to deal with and adapt to this challenge. Climate change will shift planet’s rain belt, threatening food security for billions, scientists say. The climate emergency will dramatically shift the globe’s tropical rain belt, threatening the food security of billions of people, experts have … Given the complexities of the planet’s interacting processes, it is difficult to predict exactly what will happen at different mean temperatures –but basically the hotter it gets, the greater the disruption will be to weather patterns, ecosystems and sea levels. In short, it impacts all aspects of the food system. He has committed to taking bold, historic action on climate change and has named climate change one of the four crises facing the United States. Already we are seeing signs of what lies ahead: heatwaves, forest fires and increased destruction by hurricanes, floods and other forms of extreme weather. Climate change affects food production and availability, access, quality, utilization, and stability of food systems. Vice President of Business Operations & Strategic Accounts, Office of the CEO An expert explains the urgent need both for effective climate change action and for steps to be taken to prepare for life in a drastically different world, where global warming and related environmental degradation will impact on security. All the media attention on the 2018 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on the impacts of global warming of 1.5°C may have given the impression that only two possibilities lie ahead: a temperature rise of 1.5°C or 2°C. The Planetary Security conferences that have been organised in The Hague since 2015 have helped to break down the silos between scientists, policy makers and military experts. There is high agreement that climate change intimidates security where the term ‘security’ can refer to a broad range of securities involving national, international and Human Security. BlackBerry uses cookies to help make our website better. Climate change threatens security through a dizzying array of channels. The past few months have shown us is that we are capable of rapid and drastic change, with a unified effort on a global scale. In my opinion, two key developments will influence our capacity to anticipate potential instability or conflict. These new movements join the countless scientists who have warned for decades that we are doing too little too late. Countries' stances on climate change often mirror other geopolitical aims. Water scarcity is expected to rise to unprecedented levels in some regions due to population growth, rapid urbanisation and growing economic demands for water. This year’s Emissions Gap Report, issued by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), has concluded that there is a huge and growing gap between what needs to be done to tackle climate change and what we are actually doing. In the decades to come, and certainly in the second half of this century, climate change will become the biggest challenge humankind has ever faced. Climate change will shift planet’s rain belt, threatening food security for billions, scientists say independent.co.uk - Tom Embury-Dennis. The UN was built in the aftermath of … The World Meteorological Organization said there was no previous record of two storms of such intensity striking the country in the same season. This think tank works with a range of partners on projects like Global Forest Watch and Resource Watch, which provide new insights into what is happening on our planet. Sadly, we are currently too slow in taking action to meet these targets – greenhouse gas emissions continue to increase. Temperatures fluctuations can cause loss of crops because of draught or flooding. Photo © Club of Mozambique. Increasingly, military experts are voicing their concerns. Neelam Chairs the Consumer Technology Associations Artificial Intelligence Committee. Those working on security threats will follow with interest the ideas on the development of a ‘digital ecosystem’ for the planet, which would be able to provide transparency and assess risks in the management of natural resources. While we prepared for nuclear war as a risk that could happen, we are less sure if, or how, we should prepare for the inevitable consequences of climate change. In one case, scarcity may drive conflict and migration, while in another it may forge innovation and cooperation. Essential for the creation of such a system would be an integration of private and public initiatives for monitoring our planet by making use of the latest digital technologies. Supporting climate security. Many popular articles on ‘climate wars’ or ‘water wars’ are highly speculative. The pathways through which these risks manifest is highly contextual and determined by the interaction between climatic hazards, exposure, and, most importantly, the … “Very rarely is a climate issue the sole driver behind a security threat,” she offered. opt out. Tackling climate change requires a global effort, from governments, businesses, communities, and individuals. Scientists warned in the early seventies of “The Limits to Growth” and many of their concerns have since been vindicated. Ahead of the COP25 meeting, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that, so far, the world’s efforts to limit global warming have been “utterly inadequate”. © 2020 BlackBerry Limited. It has no flag, no leader, no combatants, nor a revolutionary manifesto. Last year brought us record-breaking wildfires, floods and hurricanes, during a global pandemic. And while the public is increasingly raising its voice to demand urgent action, the ball remains very much in the court of governance. Tab 1:Canada’s Nature Legacy: protecting our … Population growth, socio-economic activities and increasing effects of climate change have perturbed the elements of the water cycle across multiple temporal and spatial scales. UNEP has also taken the initiative to strengthen cooperation and synergy between all these activities in order to build a ‘digital ecosystem for the environment’. There is a tendency to wait for others to act first, to point at other countries’ contribution to the problem, and to close our eyes, our hearts and our borders to those people who are most affected. Climate change as a national security issue In her response, Malini Mehra states that the continued framing of climate change as an environmental issue is a contributing reason for it getting short shrift in terms of policy attention. The Climate Change and Security project aims to deepen knowledge on how, when and why climate-related security risks arise, and how these risks can be mitigated, strengthening human security and long-term sustainable peace (Sustainable Develop Goals 13 and 16). Read more here about our cookies, and how you can That makes climate change a new enemy. Plus, National Security And More COVID-19: LA County Residents 65 & Older Can Start Making Vaccine Appointments This Week Many of the glaciers in the Himalaya that provide a reliable source of water for more than a billion people are likely to disappear. Accepting the reality of climate change, cooperating between all relevant stakeholders, and showing visionary leadership are some essential steps for the way forward. Joe Biden inauguration: Boris Johnson wants to work with Joe Biden on climate change and security A poll revealed Britons expected the new US … An example is the work of the World Resources Institute (WRI). The challenge is enormous: the report concludes that greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced by 7.6 per cent every year for the next ten years if we want to limit warming to 1.5°C. By continuing to use this site you accept our use of cookies. Some first promising results were presented last year in the UN Security Council. opinion, analysis and debate on security issues, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, WMO provisional Statement on the State of the Climate in 2019, Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change, Planetary Security: the security implications of climate change. One of the reasons they may identify for the world’s slow reaction to both the cause and impacts of the climate crisis is that our institutions tend to work in silos and through government structures set up in a different era to confront a different sort of dangers. While we should do the utmost to mitigate climate change, it would be naive not to think about how to prepare for the security consequences of a much warmer world, where a drastically changed environment will contribute to new security challenges. President-elect Joe Biden is 50 days away from assuming office as commander-in-chief. In the past few years, the UN Security Council, the European Union and other regional organisations have also increasingly been paying attention to these planetary security challenges, and some actors have developed some initial capacity to address them. The human security framework helps international, national and local actors to better coordinate responses to climate change. While climate change does not cause violent conflict, in and of itself, it can through its interaction with other social, political and economic factors have negative impacts on international peace and security. Then former U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry took the floor and addressed what he said — correctly — is the greatest long-term threat to global security: climate change. UNEP is one of the hosts of another digital data project called the World Environment Situation Room (powered by MapX). The WPS project seeks to use global modelling, big data and satellite imagery, combined with local knowledge and increasing transparency, to make early warning and analysis of water-related societal impacts. The Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change (GMACCC) is a global network of serving and retired military officers, and associated institutions. Our societies tend to suffer from short-termism and there is a lack of urgency to deal with long-term threats. WRI combines hundreds of data sets on environment, demography, health, politics or security. Billions of people may be faced with high levels of water stress or food scarcity, and many may migrate towards more habitable parts of the planet. Governments and businesses are in a particularly impactful position to drive positive change. Climate change is therefore often described as a ‘risk multiplier’ a ‘fragility amplifier’ or even a ‘catalyst’ of conflict. This paper systematically explores the range of possible connections between climate change and security, including national security considerations, human security concerns, military roles, and a discussion of the widely held assumption that climate change may trigger violent conflict. These new tools could help us to prepare for a different world with new challenges. What is published in NATO Review does not necessarily represent the official position or policy of member governments, or of NATO. He created the Planetary Security Initiative and is Policy Director at the Environment & Development Resource Centre in Brussels. We have successfully dealt with huge threats in the past. But it is a killer of people, it is operating worldwide to destabilise societies, and it is gaining strength. She holds a Bachelor’s degree, with Honors, in Business Management, from the University of Leicester and an Executive Certification in Financial Analysis from the University of California at Berkeley’s Haas School of Business. The WSCC strives to go beyond science and build bridges between various disciplines and sectors as well as different groups of stakeholders. Since joining BlackBerry in 2009 Neelam has held various positions, based out of the company’s United Kingdom, New York and California offices. We do not have the luxury to postpone effective climate action any longer. In another sign that the Department of Defense (DoD) is prioritizing climate security risks, the annual Inspector General (IG) summary of the Department’s top management challenges explicitly discusses climate change and extreme weather events. Today, we simply cannot afford to ignore the biggest challenge of all. Increasingly, military experts are voicing their concerns. Neelam Sandhu is responsible for the operations of the CEO office, including supporting the CEO in managing key customer and government relationships globally, preparation of and for internal and external content and engagements, and driving special cross-functional projects to deliver operational efficiencies. Climate security refers to the security risks induced, directly or indirectly, by changes in the natural climate. Climate change poses grave risks to humanity in the 21st century; confronting it will require a massive transformation of the world’s energy systems. Some of the key steps the public and private sectors can take include: Making climate change a national security … As a technology and a security company, BlackBerry recognizes the key role we have in addressing climate change. ‘Planetary security’ therefore captures the new security challenges of our century better than the phrase ‘climate security’, or even the wider concept of ‘environment and security’. Meanwhile the military should prepare for the consequences of climate change on security. It is also hard to anticipate what actions world leaders will take in the future to prevent a breakdown of our ecosystems, including the (lack of) actions to curb greenhouse gas emissions. Security is a multifaceted concept. These data will be packaged into a global dashboard and also offered as environmental intelligence briefs to UN country teams, the UN Security Council and organisations such as NATO. For climate change it is the other way around: diplomats, businesses, environmentalists and everybody else should fight climate change. The human factor, in particular, is difficult to predict: what decisions will be taken by individuals and governments when confronted with climate change? Redefining security and climate change. Climate change will affect access to water, food, and energy — each of which is linked to conflict risk and national security through different channels — as well as patterns and prevalence of infectious disease, the frequency and scale of humanitarian crises, and human migration patterns. As the United Nations approaches its 75th anniversary, the impact of anthropogenic climate change is sweeping across our planet. However, it was not until the Paris Agreement of 2015, that signatories to the UNFCC set targets, promising to hold global warming well below 2°C above pre-industrial temperatures and to try to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C. Climate change has risen up the Security Council agenda in recent years. Water scarcity is expected to rise in some regions due to population growth, rapid urbanisation and growing economic demands for water. There is no legitimate doubt that human activity is accelerating the greenhouse effect, which results in global warming. The scale of these challenges could easily be underestimated. Conflicts over increasingly scarce natural resources are not a predetermined outcome – they fundamentally depend on factors like institutional and social resources. A classic enemy is fought by the military, while every other institution in a country prepares for the consequences of the enemy’s actions. “It is the intersection of climate with other developments and with other trends and issues that combine to increase the risks.” When evaluating risks of climate change to national security, intelligence analysts should leverage the expertise across the U.S. government as well as accurately measure how countries manage climate risk… For more than ten years, it has warned of the potential security implications of climate change. I believe that one of the most worrying things about current developments on our planet is the lack of awareness – and thus widespread complacency – about climate change among people, in the media and at government level. Another initiative of WRI, together with other partners, is the Water, Peace and Security (WPS) partnership. Together with the Institute for Planetary Security, UNEP plans to organise a conference for all interested parties in 2020, aiming to create a partnership that will lead to a very powerful open access system that could revolutionise our knowledge of developments on our planet and boost our early warning capacity. report by the U.S. National Security, Military and Intelligence Panel (NSMIP), United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Making climate change a national security priority, Developing critical infrastructure resilience against climate change risks, Every organization committing to rapidly achieving net zero emissions, Investing in technologies that helps solve sustainability challenges, Pledges to be carbon neutral and to eliminate the use of single-use plastics this year, Investments in technologies that enable sustainability, such as our, Developing solutions to enable national security and critical infrastructure resilience, such as our, Partnerships with public and private sector organizations, including universities, to advance national and global sustainability solutions and targets. 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