What should count as defence investment in an era of climate-driven insecurity? In this article, Olly Griesbach argues that NATO’s new and largely undefined 1.5% resilience spending category offers a crucial policy opening to formally recognize climate adaptation, and that Canada is uniquely positioned to lead that push.
For millions of people, displacement poses a threat not due to war or persecution, but because the land beneath their feet is disappearing, crops can no longer grow, or floods return year after year. A 2020 report by ActionAid and Climate Action Network South Asia estimates that climate-related disasters could displace nearly 63 million people Read More…
Canada’s Climate Vulnerability Canada’s climate is warming at twice the global average rate, and Arctic regions are at nearly four times the global average rate. As snow and sea ice melt, reduced surface reflectivity exposes darker land and water that absorb more solar radiation, further accelerating warming. The consequences are already visible in the frequency Read More…
In Canada, the increasing frequency and intensity of wildfires, driven by climate change, have evolved from an environmental challenge into a national security concern, threatening critical infrastructure, displacing communities, and straining the capacities of emergency and military response systems. This is most evident in British Columbia, where recent wildfire seasons have forced governments to escalate Read More…
From devastating floods in Pakistan to prolonged droughts across the Horn of Africa, climate-related disasters are increasingly shaping political and humanitarian crises around the world. Climate change is often described as a “threat multiplier” because it tends to intensify challenges that already exist within societies rather than directly causing conflict on its own. Environmental pressures Read More…
A single geopolitical disruption can send shockwaves through the global economy, revealing not only how fragile the world’s energy systems are, but also how deeply they are tied to environmental challenges. The Strait of Hormuz is a vital passage in the global energy system, serving as a narrow passage through which a significant portion of Read More…
For most of its history, NATO’s credibility rested on assets it could command: troops, bases, weapons systems, and integrated military planning. Deterrence depended on capabilities that were clearly owned, coordinated, and deployable under alliance authority. Today, however, the foundations of collective defence increasingly lie outside NATO’s direct control. Undersea data cables, satellite networks, commercial cloud Read More…
The global transition to clean energy is accelerating demand for critical minerals, placing Canada at the center of opportunity and environmental risk. Partnerships centered on critical minerals for the green energy transition require expanded mining and resource extraction, which can lead to land degradation, water contamination, and biodiversity loss. Canada has increasingly prioritized the development Read More…
Avec la fonte accélérée des glaces, le Passage du Nord-Ouest devient progressivement navigable, transformant une route longtemps marginale en un enjeu central du commerce et de la sécurité internationale. Cette évolution remet directement en cause le statut juridique de cette voie maritime et, par conséquent, la capacité du Canada à en contrôler l’accès. L’importance croissante Read More…
The world at present is situated before an interchange between growing geopolitical tensions and surging national defence budgets. Albeit, the cycle is complicated by the current Climate Crisis. It is no longer weapons or foes in which the battlefield is defined, but the environment itself. Modern armed forces, including Canada’s, must therefore confront threats emerging Read More…