Climate change is high on both domestic and international political agendas as countries face up to the huge environmental challenges the world now faces. Whilst this attention is welcome, less energy is being focused on the inevitable impact climate change will have on security issues.

The well-documented physical effects of climate change will have knock-on socio-economic impacts, such as loss of infrastructure, resource scarcity and the mass displacement of peoples. These in turn could produce serious security consequences that will present new challenges to governments trying to maintain stability. Indeed, the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence’s report ‘Global Strategic Trends – Out to 2040’ highlights climate change as a “ring road issue” – a “driver that is so pervasive in nature and influence that it will affect the life of everyone on the planet over the next 30 years”. When the increased instability of this humanitarian challenge (such as food insecurity) is combined with persistent socio-economic divisions, the potential for social unrest and political instability is considerable. As well as generating new conflicts, climate change acts as a threat multiplier – exacerbating existing tensions and divisions – especially in already fragile situations.

The ‘securitisation’ of climate change – treating the issue as a matter of local, national or global security – need not mean an automatic ‘militarisation’ of the issue – the adoption of military responses based on the threat or use of force to a changing climate. Such an overly pessimistic view ignores the potential we still have for tempering the most dramatic effects of climate change, and may decrease the chances of us embracing a more preventative approach, promoting a low-carbon transition.