The military can be instrumental in fighting climate change, Andrew Vincent Alder, California representative at the Institute for Environmental Security, told a seminar organised by the Institute for Environmental Security, GLOBE-EU and GLOBE-Europe in partnership with EurActiv.
Climate change has global security implications because it intensifies and exacerbates conflict and creates new geopolitical areas of concern, Alder explained. "The military has the expertise and logistical and technical capacity to take the lead in solving these crisis situations," he stated.
In addition, armies could significantly reduce their carbon footprint by making better infrastructural decisions, like employing alternative energies and prioritising cleaner procurement strategies, Alder noted.
Former MEP Frank Schwalba-Hoth agreed that the US army in particular would have significant leverage if it committed to internal change towards cleaner energies. The US was responsible for 54% of global military expenditure last year.
Military organisations have played a crucial role in protecting the ozone layer over the past twenty years in their capacity as a partner in implementing the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, added Durwood Zaelke, director of the secretariat to the International Network for Environmental Compliance and Enforcement (INECE).
The US military set a powerful precedent by doing away with 80% of CFCs very quickly, he said, describing the Montreal Protocol as the "world's most successful climate treaty" after having phased out the equivalent of 135bn tonnes of CO2 since 1990. "We need to get the climate folks of the Obama administration" to understand this success and study why this particular treaty is doing so well, he claimed.
The EU has also acknowledged the "profound impact" of climate change on international security. In a March 2008 paper, the bloc's foreign policy chief Javier Solana made a number of recommendations to deal with the problem, including developing greater EU disaster response and conflict prevention capabilities. Disputes over access to new trade routes and territorial claims will also need addressing, he said (EurActiv 11/03/08).
Meanwhile, a new report by Dr. Michael Werz of the German Marshall Fund of the United States argued that as global warming causes Arctic ice to melt, "geopolitical cards are likely to be reshuffled" by opening tactically important spaces. The military must now prepare for "complex engagement situations when it will be difficult to differentiate between domestic and foreign policies, humanitarian aid and military intervention," he concluded.
