21 February 2019

International Military Council on Climate and Security Announced at The Hague

At the Planetary Security Conference 2019, a meeting of hundreds of security and foreign policy experts and practitioners, the Center for Climate and Security (CCS) and its partners the Netherlands Institute of International Relations (Clingendael)/ the Planetary Security Initiative, the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS),  and the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS) announced the creation of a new International Military Council on Climate and Security, or IMCCS. 

The International Military Council on Climate and Security (IMCCS) is an umbrella “standing” network of senior military leaders across the globe that will meet regularly, produce an annual World Climate and Security Report, drive communications and policy in support of international actions on the security implications of a changing climate, and amplify existing climate and security networks.

The Center for Climate and Security (CCS) serves as the IMCCS Secretariat, with a consortium including the Netherlands Institute of International Relations (Clingendael)/ the Planetary Security Initiative, the French Institute for International and Strategic Affairs (IRIS), and the Hague Centre for Strategic Studies (HCSS).

Over the last decade, a growing number of militaries and national security communities have become increasingly concerned about a changing climate - including about the very real risks it poses to global stability, conflict and their own military missions - and have begun to organize themselves within their respective countries. The IMCCS will harness that energy into an international institution devoted to addressing the very real and urgent concerns militaries have about a changing climate.

The IMCCS will represent a major scaling-up of the international climate and military community. Building from the successes of climate and security networks such as the Climate and Security Advisory Group, the CNA Military Advisory Board, the Global Military Advisory Council on Climate Change, the Planetary Security Initiative, the CCS Advisory Board and the Climate and Security Working Group-International, the IMCCS will represent the largest, most diverse, and most active international military network on climate change.

The core functions of the IMCCS will be three-fold:

  • Analysis and Policy Development: The IMCCS will publish annual reports on the global security implications of climate change, including its implications for militaries. This will include an annual World Climate and Security Report
     
  • Communications: IMCCS members will communicate during and after key global events, including meetings of important regional and international security institutions.
     
  • Coordination: The IMCCS will coordinate and super-charge existing climate and security networks to help maximize the effectiveness and reach of the climate-military community.

 

The IMCCS will hold a formal launch event in 2019 (date to be confirmed).


As it expands, the IMCCS will welcome members and institutional partners from across the globe.