Expert helps shape NATO report on climate change and global security

Published by NATO's Science and Technology Organization (STO), The Effects of Climate Change on Security analyses how climate change impacts security and defence and how it transforms operations across NATO member states.

The publication brought together experts from 10 different NATO nations to assess how rising temperatures, extreme weather and environmental disruption are interconnected with the global and national security risks. It provides one of the most comprehensive analyses to date of how climate impacts political stability, military operations, infrastructure resilience and humanitarian challenges.

Based on detailed case studies from around the world, including North and West Africa, the Arctic and the Dnipro watershed, the report highlights that addressing climate-related security risks requires collaboration between scientists, defence professionals, and policymakers.

The report authors argue that climate change is a systemic and unique problem that transforms the geopolitical and strategic environments. They write that climate change challenges the basic assumptions behind how countries think about national security and defence. It may require rethinking priorities, policies, and long-standing strategies, not just adding climate risks to existing plans across governments, scientific communities, defence organisations and civil society.

The second core finding address context. The authors stress the importance of in-depth knowledge of global climate change and its consequences on context-specific dynamics as the route to achieve complete understanding of the security consequences of climate change.

The third core finding of the report states that climate security is found at the intersection of science and policy. This means that NATO member states need to articulate a new model across the intersection of science, industry and policy. Understanding and responding to the challenges of climate change has direct implications for regional, national and international security.

Professor Heidrich, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Newcastle University School of Engineering, said: "The link between climate change and conflict is frequently framed around increasing pressures on resource scarcity and economic instability, but there are issues of public safety at play as well. It is essential that the UK-like all nations-becomes climate-ready to maintain public confidence, and act quickly and effectively in emerging crises. As climate impacts intensify, we should anticipate a rise in the number, scale, and diversity of military operations, ranging from humanitarian assistance and disaster relief to conflict prevention and crisis response."

Reference:

NATO Science & Technology Organization. (2026). The effects of climate change on security (STO-TR-SAS-182). North Atlantic Treaty Organization. https://publications.sto.nato.int/publications/STO%20Technical%20Reports/STO-TR-SAS-182/TR-SAS-182-ALL.pdf