New intelligence report warns of security risks from unchecked climate change

• December 11, 2012
US Soldiers at a military base

Creative Commons: Morning Calm Weekly Newspaper Installation Management Command, U.S. Army, 2008

Climate change has the potential to stoke regional instabilities and fuel international tensions, according to a major new report from the US National Intelligence Council.

Released yesterday, the Global Trends 2030 report seeks to map out the security trends that will shape international relations over the next two decades. It is the latest in a series of studies from national security bodies around the world to acknowledge that climate change and its likely impacts on food, water, and natural resource supplies represents an emerging security threat.

“Demand for food, water, and energy will grow by approximately 35, 40 and 50 per cent respectively, owing to an increase in the global population and the consumption patterns of an expanding middle class,” the report states. “Climate change will worsen the outlook for the availability of these critical resources.”

The report argues that scarcities can be avoided, but only if co-ordinated steps are taken to improve productivity and efficiency across a raft of industries and economies.

Read more: Guardian UK >>


  • Karl

    When are people going to realize that climate change is not just an environmental issue, not just a human rights or health issue, but an issue which will impact the very security of our world?

  • Heather

    Absolutely agree. This is a systemic and global problem which requires a systemic global response.

    • TckTckTck

      I Think Jigar Shaw said the movement needs to get better at “moral outrage.”

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TckTckTck is the online hub for the Global Call for Climate Action. The GCCA represents an unprecedented alliance of more than 400 nonprofit organizations from around the world. Our shared mission is to mobilize civil society and galvanize public support to ensure a safe climate future for people and nature, to promote the low-carbon transition of our economies, and to accelerate the adaptation efforts in communities already affected by climate change.

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