Some of the brightest minds in UK security and defence have come together for the Sitrep Review of the Year.
Here is how they believe climate change will impact the militarylandscape and Britain's standing among the world powers.
In some respect, the international stage for climate change in2020 is already set.
Between9 and 20 November 2020, Glasgow will host theUnited NationsClimate Change Conference - marking the 26th talks held by the UN.
Professor Paul Rogers, Global Security Consultant with Oxford Research Group says that, while the 2015 UN climate change summit made "interesting progress", there were then"three duds in a row, with Madrid the most recent".
Professor Rogers argues that the Glasgowtalks will be hugely importantdue to "the change in the public mood and the science" regarding what he describes as a climate emergency.
He went on to label climate change the biggest threat to UK security.
To match the public mood,BFBS Defence Analyst Christopher Lee has called for "a military contingent" in attendance to learn of future defence requirements in relation to the environment.
If events continue on the same trajectory as 2019, discussions are likely to intensifyas they enter a new decade.
One contributor keen to distinguish climate change as a matter for defence is Professor Michael Clarke,former DirectorGeneral of the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) and now Associate Director of the Strategy and Security Institute at the University of Exeter.
"Anything that threatens to stop people going about their daily lives and requires the mobilisation of extra resources is a security problem,"he says.
Whilesevere weather events have only "inconvenienced" the UK, in comparison to recent wildfires in Australia, securitising the issue offers the UK a chance to be a fighting force on the global security stage.
As public concern in the West rises alongside water levels in the arctic, MrLee sees the 'war on climate change' as one worth winning and "a big opportunity".
"One of the problems of British defence is that there no big ideas,"he says - endorsing strategic military involvement in climate decision-making.
A unique treatment of the climate emergency as a matter for defence could see the military machine exercising its influence with government, experts suggest.
Professor Rogers encouraged the senior military officials to work drive decision-makers toward"conflict prevention" measures,rather than reactive ones.
Rather than simply adding to the 2020 defence inbox - already brimming with heightened tensions such as those in the Gulf - the idea is that this approach would be beneficial to Ministry of Defence (MOD) resources too.
Reactive measures to climate issues have included disaster reliefefforts from Royal Navy vessels in storm-hit nationsand RAF deployment to deal with flooding.
Time will tell if the new decade is to witness a 'green military' in Britain.
Speaking in September 2019 at London's defence and equipment event, DSEI,Chief of the General StaffGeneral Sir Mark Carleton-Smith suggested the Army's current fleet of vehicles and tanks could be the last to run on fossil fuels.
WhiletheTimes' Defence EditorLucy Fisherjoked"solar-powered tanks" could be an idea for decades still to come, the notion of a climate-conscious generation has made an impression on the chief of an Army, whose serviceisstill 10% below strength.
GenCarlton-Smith said at DSEI: "Our future recruits who increasingly make career decisions based on a prospective employers' environmental credentials."
The MODwill hopeto seethe Armed Forces move as a unit on sustainability.
While 2019 started with the announcement that thousands of unused ration packs would be donated to charity,by July the department had come under fire for wrapping more thantwo million packs per-year in non-recyclable plastic sleeves.
Though manydefence matters are dealt with through long-term investment strategy and lasting intervention, Professor Rogers believes that immediate action is required "to prevent really serious problems in the 2030s, 40s, and 50s".
The challenge of the rapiddecarbonisation required, however, has not yet captured the interest of the word's most influential nations.
"The problem is that so many key countries just aren't interested in it," hesaid.
America, Brazil, Russia, Australiawere listed among those yet to prioritise climate action, India and China "will not be told what to do" and "the Canadians...will talk the talk, but they won't walk the walk".
"This is probably the biggest single problem facing humanity, and we're really not facing it as soon as we could."
Last year saw the MOD become one of several protest sites forclimate activist groupExtinction Rebellion in the UK.
The International Energy Agency's Global Energy & CO2 Status Report 2019 shows a record-high in UK electricity generation from renewables and a record low inthe share of coal.
Meanwhile,China, India, and the United States accounted for 85% of the net increase in emissions.
Experts suggest the UK's renewable energy capability could repromote the UK's status worldwide - given that the world eventually do take climate change seriously.
Discussion across the table at the BFBS annual review noted both the requirement for Britain to make large moves on its ownas it leaves the European Union,and the potential for defence involvement in such moves.
Professor Rogers says: "This is the one area, in all of the areas, where Britain could punch above its weight.
"If you want to be a significant power in the world, in the coming era... leading on that will probably increase your status more than anything."
How To Listen: Sitrep's Review of the Yearcan be downloaded on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and on Spotify.
Cover image: Royal Marines ice climbing in Antarctica (Picture: MOD).
Read this article:
Climate Change: Are Global Threats An Opportunity To Put The UK Back On The Map In 2020? - Forces Network
- Christopher Lee Was Furious About This 'Lord of the Rings' Moment - Collider - April 2nd, 2024
- Airdate: The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee - TV Tonight - April 2nd, 2024
- Christopher Lee's casual shorts and slippers outfit in Taiwan made heads turn - TODAY - March 16th, 2024
- Christopher Lee Dead: Horror Icon and Legendary Movie Villain Was 93 ... - February 19th, 2024
- "Chris wasn't hearing a bar of it": Christopher Lee Forcefully Auditioned For Another Lord of the Rings Character Before ... - FandomWire - February 11th, 2024
- 'Cancel everything': How Christopher Lee disciplines his son with this one phrase - Yahoo Singapore News - February 3rd, 2024
- Actress Fann Wong surprised by husband Christopher Lee on birthday - The Straits Times - February 3rd, 2024
- Fann Wong surprised by husband Christopher Lee on birthday - The New Paper - February 3rd, 2024
- Christopher Lee: The actor and hunter of Nazi war criminals - Far Out Magazine - January 9th, 2024
- Sir Christopher Lee's Favorite Performance is in a Film You've Never Heard Of - MovieWeb - December 12th, 2023
- Christopher Lee dies at the age of 93 - The Guardian - April 27th, 2023
- Christopher Lee - Tolkien Gateway - March 31st, 2023
- Christopher Lee filmography - Wikipedia - February 10th, 2023
- Where to Start with Christopher Lee - The Film Magazine - October 19th, 2022
- 'Were you desperate to get proposed to?' Christopher Lee crashes Rebecca Lim's new show and roasts her while dishing out relationship advice - AsiaOne - October 19th, 2022
- The Wicker Man TV Series In Development With Andy Serkis The Imaginarium And Studiocanal-Backed Urban Myth - Deadline - October 19th, 2022
- Tim Burton names his five favourite horror movies of all time - Far Out Magazine - October 19th, 2022
- Ten celebrities who served in the military, from Adam Driver to Prince Harry - The National - October 19th, 2022
- These 13 Actors Have Earned the Right to be Called Scream Kings - Dread Central - October 19th, 2022
- David W. Smith | Obituaries | thedailynewsonline.com - The Daily News Online - October 19th, 2022
- Jennifer Hudson Recounts "Fanning Out" Over Duet With Sheryl Lee Ralph: "I Wanted to Make Her Proud" - POPSUGAR - October 19th, 2022
- Tangipahoa Parish Jail - October 11th, 2022
- A monster calls: why the horror universe is an idea whose time has come - The Guardian - October 11th, 2022
- Oblong Box, The (Blu-ray Review) - The Digital Bits - October 11th, 2022
- Was that the balrog that killed Gandalf in the Rings of Power? - Polygon - October 11th, 2022
- Every James Bond movie ranked by critics, according to Rotten Tomatoes - Insider - October 11th, 2022
- Overwatch 2: All Voice Actors And Cast - eXputer - October 11th, 2022
- She got Covid-19 four times this year alone - The Star Online - October 11th, 2022
- Nursing School Collaborates with Nursing School in The Philippines - Boston College - October 2nd, 2022
- The Terrifying, Terrific Horror Movies of 1972 - Nerdist - October 2nd, 2022
- Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King: A beautiful conclusion to the iconic trilogy - The Shield - October 2nd, 2022
- Tyson Fury through the years: Photo gallery - MMA Junkie - October 2nd, 2022
- Duncan man jailed, accused of madness on meth - The Lawton Constitution - September 24th, 2022
- Conor McGregor "can't believe" he's being paid to film Hollywood movie - The Mirror - September 24th, 2022
- The Government of Malaysia Launches the National Energy Policy 2022 - 2040: What it Means for the Renewables Landscape - Lexology - September 24th, 2022
- New Brockton native Brandon Lee part of team cherishing NASCAR win at Bristol - Dothan Eagle - September 24th, 2022
- Cape Cod theater reviewers' thoughts on 2 scary plays and a comedy - Cape Cod Times - September 24th, 2022
- 'His presence is going to be there': Lee Roy Selmon will attend in spirit as trio of OU brothers honored with statue - The Oklahoma Daily - September 24th, 2022
- Nicolas Cage inspired by Christopher Lee for vampire movie Renfield - The Digital Fix - September 16th, 2022
- Reece Shearsmith Tells Richard Herring About Christopher Lee - Beyond The Joke - September 16th, 2022
- 8 Horror Movies So Awful They Were Pulled From The Cinema - WhatCulture - September 16th, 2022
- Man-Thing Makes his MCU Debut in Werewolf by Night - Here's what we know about Man-Thing - Attack of the Fanboy - September 16th, 2022
- Summer of Blood (Blu-ray Review) - The Digital Bits - September 16th, 2022
- Get it over with: Suspect in Kokomo child exploitation case tells police to arrest him on the spot - FOX 59 Indianapolis - September 16th, 2022
- Alabama says it won't be ready to use nitrogen hypoxia method at Sept. 22 execution - USA TODAY - September 16th, 2022
- Christopher Lee, The Real-Life "Most Interesting Man In The World" - August 31st, 2022
- Inside The Fact And Fiction Of Christopher Lee's World War II Service - August 31st, 2022
- How to watch The Lord of the Rings movies and the series in chronological order - Lifestyle Asia India - August 31st, 2022
- Court and arrest reports for Martinsville and Henry County - Martinsville Bulletin - August 31st, 2022
- Every Tim Burton Movie Ranked from Worst to Best - Consequence - August 31st, 2022
- Court lists defendants to appear in Criminal Division on Thursday - Magnoliareporter - August 31st, 2022
- Lee County School Board makes minor revision to Parents' Bill of Rights - Wink News - August 31st, 2022
- A Cardiologist Breaks Down the AHA's New Report on the Most Common Heart Disease Symptoms Best Life - Best Life - August 31st, 2022
- Exclusive Interview: Director Philippe Mora On His Films With Christopher Lee - FANGORIA - August 14th, 2022
- 10 films turning 10 in 2022 - NewsNation Now - August 14th, 2022
- Persephone and the Poultry of the Night | Thumper Forge - Patheos - August 14th, 2022
- Unexpected Demands Made By Lord Of The Rings Actors - Looper - August 14th, 2022
- Rings of Power: Everything you need to know about Amazon's 1bn Lord of the Rings prequel - The Mirror - August 14th, 2022
- Slash Tells Us Why There Will Never Be a Guns N Roses Movie - MovieMaker Magazine - August 6th, 2022
- On the record for Aug. 4 - Seymour Tribune - August 6th, 2022
- Judge Talley will hear criminal docket on Thursday - Magnoliareporter - August 6th, 2022
- Dr. Christopher Reber Receives ACCT 2022 Northeast Regional Chief Executive Officer Award - The Hudson Reporter - August 6th, 2022
- Theatre Review: This 101 Dalmatians is barking up the wrong tree - The New European - August 6th, 2022
- Christopher Lee Euro Films, Dennis Hopper's 'Out of the Blue' Among Titles Due on Disc From Severin and MVD July 26 Media Play News - Media Play News - July 28th, 2022
- 25 Scariest Movies of All Time (2022 Edition) - Cultured Vultures - July 28th, 2022
- Fans Wonder Why a Fantasy Epic Too Big to Fail Did Just That - We Got This Covered - July 28th, 2022
- The Best Witch Movies of all Time, Ranked - The Mary Sue - July 28th, 2022
- NASCAR Driver Christopher Bell and CRAFTSMAN Raise Awareness for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals; No. 20 Special Edition Paint Scheme to be... - July 28th, 2022
- Singer Stefanie Sun turns 44 with cakes and loved ones - The Straits Times - July 28th, 2022
- Tony Dow dead: Wally Cleaver 'Leave It to Beaver' actor was 77 - USA TODAY - July 28th, 2022
- Roane Co. authorities looking for man convicted of neglecting and murdering an elderly relative - WBIR.com - July 20th, 2022
- 22 Incredible Facts About The Life and Career Of Sir Christopher Lee - July 20th, 2022
- Police and Fire Report - Winchester Sun - Winchester Sun - July 20th, 2022
- What We Do in the Shadows cast shares their favorite vampire movies, books, and more - Polygon - July 20th, 2022
- Courteney Cox Set To Make Horror Movie History With 'Scream 6' - We Got This Covered - July 20th, 2022
- Every James Bond Movie, Ranked: The Best of Bond - CNET - July 20th, 2022
- Grandparents of Dean Kerrie say he was just defending his mother and should not be jailed - Sunday World - July 20th, 2022
- Ray Wise Has Always Been More Than "That Guy" - Defector - July 20th, 2022
- Angela Ledgerwood on the Psychic Relief of Reading - Literary Hub - July 20th, 2022
- Athens man charged with manslaughter in fatal hit and run - News Courier - July 12th, 2022
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero