British Ministry of Defence announces plans to address climate change

Britain's defense ministry announced plans this week to reduce emissions, scale up its transition to renewables -- and to prepare for geopolitical threats posed by climate change.

The department put out a press release Tuesday detailing several steps to address climate change, on the heels of a report outlining its climate change and stability approach.

The Ministry of Defence intends to contribute to Britain's goal to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050 and to increase use of recycled materials for fuel and components as well as advancing maintenance methods to reduce waste and its carbon footprint.

The release also said Britain's military plans to "adapt, fight and win in ever more hostile and unforgiving physical environments: and to prepare to respond to "the emerging geopolitical and conflict-related threats being exacerbated by climate change."

"As a global military leader we must evolve and set an example on how to protect peace and stability while embracing sustainability and reducing our carbon emissions," Jeremy Quin, the country's defense minister, said in the release.

Quin noted that the Royal Navy has reduced its nitrogen oxide emissions by 95% on its offshore vessel patrols, the British Army is piloting carbon-efficient accommodation across its training estates and the Royal Air Force has introduced more environmentally-friendly fuel.

"Defence is already making great strides in its efforts to become more sustainable. By changing the way we operate, across land, sea and air domains, Defence will play its part in the fight against climate change," said Lt. Gen. Richard Nugee, MOD Climate Change & Sustainability lead, said.

Earlier this month U.S. Secretary of Defense David Austin issued a memo directing military leadership to create a track protocol to measure implementation of climate and energy goals.

The memo also directed the Pentagon to create a Climate Working Group to coordinate Pentagon responses to a January executive order from President Joe Biden which requested "an analysis of the security implications of climate change (Climate Risk Analysis) that can be incorporated into modeling, simulation, war-gaming, and other analyses" within 120 days.

Earlier this month the Army released an Arctic strategy which includes plans to establish headquarters with combat brigades specially trained and equipped to increase cold-weather dominance, as well as to improve individual and collective training of forces to operate in the Arctic region.

It is similar to the Navy and Marine Corps strategy released earlier this year and strategies released by the Air Force as well as the Coast Guard in the last two years.

The strategies note that climate change will make it more difficult to predict weather patterns in the region -- and that existing geopolitical tensions are likely to intensify due to increased navigability in northern climates.

Last week the Pentagon announced contract modifications related to the development of a portable nuclear reactor, noting that the Department anticipates an increased demand for electricity as it electrifies its fleet of vehicles.

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