CLIMATE CHANGE
Q&A WITH MICHAEL RÜHLE WHAT IMPACT DOES CLIMATE CHANGE
HAVE ON SECURITY? We have seen in the past that, for example,
bad harvests can lead to political instability, especially in fragile countries. There is a massive security issue here. The melting of the ice cap will open up
new economic opportunities. The northern route will become ice-free. It could lead to all kinds of competition
for scarce resources because there is lots of interesting stuff
under the ice which will become available. We already see that the Arctic is an area where there's more military activity
than there used to be. HOW WILL CLIMATE CHANGE AFFECT THE WAY THE MILITARY OPERATE? Climate change will have
many different implications for the military. Starting with the maritime dimension. If the sea level rises, your coastal installations
will be flooded more and more frequently. Take the heat in the Middle East,
which is going up. If you have 50 degrees or more, your military gear will not be able
to shield you from that heat.
If you have more sandstorms in certain areas, for example, you will not be able to do
reconnaissance flights anymore. If you have roads that go along
coastal areas, they will be flooded and therefore
be unusable most of the time. So, we have already many cases
where climate change is changing the way we need to plan
and execute military operations. And then, of course,
there's the other question.
If climate change
does lead to humanitarian disasters, what role will the military play
and what role will NATO play in the future? WHAT ARE ALLIES DOING TO LOWER
THEIR MILITARIES’ ENVIRONMENTAL FOOTPRINT? First of all, we have to measure how much
greenhouse gas does our military emit. That is not an easy thing,
but we're working on that right now.
We're working on a methodology to measure greenhouse gas emissions in the military. And then you will have to think about, to set goals for reduction
of greenhouse gas emissions. But you also need to look at new technologies, what technologies are available
that give you what we call the “win-win”. Lower environmental footprint,
but full combat capability, because we cannot compromise on that. So, there are very interesting experiments
being done in many Allied nations on biofuels, for example,
and many other things. And it's important to use
NATO as a framework to exchange best practices among Allies
and hopefully among partners as well, so that we get a higher IQ
when it comes to understanding how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
in the military..
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