“The environment remains a top concern of the British public, and we will continue to promote ambitious environmental leadership in parliament, so that our constituents are better off tomorrow than today.”
— Chris Skidmore MP Chair, environment all-party parliamentary group(APPG), Caroline Lucas MP Chair, climate change APPG, Philip Dunne MPChair, climate and security APPG, Bim Afolami MP Chair, renewable and sustainable energy APPG, Ben Lake MP Chair, fuel poverty and energy efficiency APPG, Barry Gardiner MP Chair, nature APPG, Alexander Stafford MP Chair, environmental, social and governance APPG, Darren Jones MPChair, business, energy and industrial strategy committee, Helene Hayman Co-chair, Peers for the Planet, Kate Parminter Chair, Lords environment and climate change committee
“I feel most strongly about Defence’s ambition [to] be the global leader in understanding the security implications of climate change.”
— Lieutenant General Richard Nugee, Evidence, Defence Committee
“What I would note is that the UK’s strategic approach could better appreciate the relationships, the interdependencies and the co-dependencies between climate change and impacts.”
— Dr Tim Clack, Evidence, Defence Committee
“There is no doubt that [climate change] is probably the most significant global threat to all sorts of different security issues…This is a global issue - a genuinely global commons - for which the petty politics of humankind are completely irrelevant”
— Major General Andrew Sharpe, Evidence, Defence Committee
“Across the world, climate change could lead to widespread food insecurity, increased violent conflict, and the weakening of international law and governance. as areas become uninhabitable, there will be an increase in the number of Climate refugees.”
— Select Committee on Risk Assessment and Risk Planning, Report Session 2021-22, House of Lords
“CCRA3 also highlights the international nature of many climate risks which can cause cascading effects across borders and sectors with significant impacts on the UK.”
— UK Climate Change Risk Assessment 2022 (CCRA3), HM Government
“we need to widen our definition of national security and integrate our efforts to secure our national resilience.”
— The Lord Peach GBE KCB DL, Maiden Speech, Lords Chamber
“Both the size of current and future risks, and the urgency of action has increased compared to five years ago... The longer action is delayed, the higher the costs the Government will face as the insurer of last resort.”
— Climate Change Committee, Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk 2021, Advice to Government for the UK’s third Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA3)
“Government will make tackling climate change and biodiversity loss its number one international priority. Under my chairmanship, the UN Security Council recently held its first ever high-level meeting on the impact of climate change on peace and security.”
— Boris Johnson MP, Forward from the Prime Minister to ‘Global Britain in a Competitive Age: the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy’, Cabinet Office
“There is an urgent need to consider how compatible the UK’s security approach is with tackling the climate emergency.”
— Wera Hobhouse MP, Debate, Westminster Hall
“Climate change worsens poverty and economic stability, and poses a significant risk to global security.”
— Jeremy Quin MP, Debate, Commons Chamber
“how does [the mod] plan to address the rising threat of climate change to our own national security in the face of increasing instability across the world?”
— Steve Bonnar MP, Debate, Commons Chamber
“It is quite clear that climate change is already causing national security issues.”
— The Lord Fox, Debate, Lords Chamber
“The acute crisis in food SECURITY, driven by CLIMATE and biodiversity loss but exacerbated by the Covid pandemic and Russian aggression against Ukraine, is creating a terrifying situation in the world”
— Lord Oates, Debate, Lords Chamber
“grey zone warfare, terrorism, CLIMATE change and organised crime mean that the threats to our national SECURITY and international stability are becoming less conventional, less predictable and more continuous.”
— John Healey MP, Debate, Commons Chamber
“the integrated review refresh reiterated that climate change remains a pressing concern for defence…we are positively enthusiastic to play our role in endeavouring to contribute to the Government’s overall concerns.”
— Baroness Goldie, Oral Evidence, Defence Committee
“grey zone warfare, terrorism, CLIMATE change and organised crime mean that the threats to our national SECURITY and international stability are becoming less conventional, less predictable and more continuous.”
— John Healey MP, Debate, Commons Chamber
“I would fundamentally disagree with those who say that the mod shouldn’t be getting involved with climate security. The MOD has a duty to protect our security - whatever the threat.”
— Lieutenant General Richard Nugee, ‘Climate Warriors: Mission Antarctica’ Film, Ministry of Defence
“.the UK and US have long recognised and understood that the climate crisis, as it is now, represents an enormous threat - real and present and future - in terms of the security of our nations and of the planet”
— John Kerry, United States Special Presidential Envoy on Climate, Defence Committee